It's been a very interesting week. Joe says I've been a living episode of "House", but he also thinks I have leprosy so he might not be the best judge of the situation. Last Tuesday afternoon I went my PCP for what I thought was a mild UTI. I started antibiotics that evening, but woke up at about 2 am with shaking chills, high fever, nausea, and vomitting. Last time I checked antibiotics were supposed to make you better, not worse, so I called the doctor. It was decided that the infection had just spread/gotten worse before the antibiotic has a chance to work, so I was to push fluids (which is lovely to do when it hurts to pee), take tylonal or motrin for the fever (which never broke), and wait for the bactrim to kick in.
That was Wednesday morning. So when Friday morning came along and I was still throwing up and running a fever I called the doctor again. By this time I was so sick/weak from a) not eating and b) running a fever for 3 days, that when I tried to shower I just ended up sitting on the floor of the tub because I was so dizzy, etc that I couldn't stand long enought to rinse the shampoo out of my hair. When Joe got home from work he had to help me out of the tub and into fresh PJs. (yeah, I know....what was I doing trying to shower when he wasn't home? Well, did you ever think that way when you were 24?) Anyway, it was decided that the bug had traveled to my kidneys and that it was resistant to the antibiotics I was taking. So I switched to a different one, macrobid, and I took that for the first time on Friday night.
On Saturday I woke up feeling much better. My fever had finally broke, I could keep a bit of food down, and I could stand long enough brush my teeth all by myself. That was when I saw the thrush on my tongue, which I was thouroughly annoyed by. But that was nothing compared to my reaction when I saw the rash on my chest a couple hours later. After a lot of swearing (I was pissed) Joe took me to the urgent care clinic where they told me I was having an allergic reaction (duh?) to the macrobid. So they gave me cipro, nystatin for the thrush, and told me to take an OTC anti-histamine for the rash. Ok, so I can get better now, right?
Not so much. On Sunday I woke up with swollen lips, tongue, face, hands, etc and the rash had taken over my entire body - everywhere but the palms of my hands and the bottoms of my feet. And then it started to itch. My fever was back, my head hurt again, and now this... I was smart enough to immediately cut off all of my finger nails, but naive enough to think that would stop me from trying to scratch my skin off. Ugh. Back to the clinic....more antibiotics....steroids for the reaction...anti-histamines (2 kinds) for the itching...continue the nystatin...push fluids...follow up in two weeks (after I was done with the antibiotics). I spent most of Sunday evening and night in a bathtub full of oatmeal and water, and when I wasn't in there I was in an anti-histamine induced coma. Monday night I finally started to feel human again and Tuesday was my first official day without a fever. Hey, it only took a week, right?
It picked a bad week. I got sick the day before I usually clean the house, so that didn't get done. I hadn't gone grocery shopping in forever and we were out of everything ...milk, bread, eggs....everything. I think Joe ate Ramen Noodles for dinner one night. I hadn't done anything to prepare for Thanksgiving, had a group presentation in my psych class, missed a test review in my algebra class, and caused Joe to miss his soccer tournement on Sunday. I told him to go, but he wouldn't have it...he actually stayed home from work one morning to keep an eye on me. So when Tuesday came I had a lot to do and very little energy to do it, having eaten only a few pieces of toast and a couple bowls of applesauce in a matter of 5 days.
I wasn't real thrilled about the fact that I needed to go grocery shopping two days before Thanksgiving, but I sucked it up and went. I've found that you can survive WalMart at any time, no matter how busy it is, so long as you go in a certain state of mind. If you accept that there will be an infinite number of rude, inconsiderate people in the store, then you can take a moment to rally all of your patience and calmness to accomodate those encounters. Take a deep breath, find your happy place, and embrace the experience. I think I'll call it Walmart Zen.
Oh, and make sure you're not on a schedule. If you're in a rush you're screwed.
Anyway, I spent two hours in WalMart getting everything from shampoo to sweet potatoes and went home, totally exhausted. Then, about 30 seconds after I walked into the house I realized I'd forgotten something. Something very important.
I forgot to buy a flippin' turkey.
Oh, and by the way, I don't actually own anything to roast a turkey in.
Eye yi yi...
But Joe and I went out and bought a turkey and roasting pan later than night and my very first Thanksgiving dinner that I cooked all by myself turned out pretty good. I was a little perplexed by the turkey itself...the Joy of Cooking said to cook it uncovered...but the Moms said to cover it...I don't have a turkey baster...does it really take 3 hours to cook? How the hell do you carve one of these things anyway? What am I supposed to use to tie the legs together? I found the neck, but where's the heart and all that junk? It was an experience, but it's results were tasty so I'm happy. Joe, Sara, Sara's Mom, Jake, Jonny, and Sam all came over for dinner, then we had pie and played board games. It was a pretty good turkey day, and it was kinda nice to make our own tradition this year.
So yeah, very interesting week.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Passing the time
I miss the U.P. The weather down here is getting to me - it's not supposed to be 80 degrees in mid-October! The last week hasn't been as bad - it's stayed in the 60's and dropped to the 40's at night - but it's not "fall". I love fall - the colors, the smell, the way it sounds when the leaves crunch under your feet, how great it feels to put on a sweatshirt and sit outside on a sunny fall day. But I don't get any of that here. Half the time it's too warm to wear pants, let alone a sweatshirt. For the past week I've insisted on keeping our windows open so that our house would get cold and I could put on some sweats and snuggle up with a book and some tea on the couch (you just can't do that when it's 80 out, even with AC). I was finally forced to close them when we woke up on Sunday and the place was only 62 degrees, but I still loved every minute of it. I don't know what I'm going to do when December rolls around and there's no snow. It's a whole different reason to get the Holiday Blues. So yeah, I miss the U.P.
Besides the unsatisfactory weather, things are generally well. HayZeus is still hopping along, but at a pace that the vet is happy with. HayZeus is so excited to be allowed to jump onto things - for two weeks after his surgery he was on activity restrictions so he wasn't allowed to run or jump. Do you know how hard it is to keep a cat off the furniture? Impossible. We tipped our dining room table onto it's side, locked him out of the bedrooms and bathrooms, put the dining room chairs across the couch...everything we could think of to prevent him from jumping. But that little bastard still managed - open the bedroom for 3 seconds and he was curled up on the bed, right the dining room table to eat and he was up there with you....just impossible. Thankfully, we don't have to do that anymore. His incision is completely healed and his hair is growing back, although he still looks pretty freaky. :)
I'm starting to run out of things to do with my time. I go to class 6 hours a week, have about 20 minutes of homework for each class, and am occasionally insulted that I'm paying my algebra professer to teach me how to use a graphing calculator. I really like my algebra prof - she's a great teacher and I enjoy being in her class - but I'm not in middle school so I guess I'm expecting more out of the curriculum. I shouldn't complain because I put in very little effort to get A's in the class...but still, I'm paying for this? Ugh. My psych class makes me want to shove a pencil into my eye, so it's probably a good thing I only have it once a week.
So that leaves me with a lot of time on my hands. I've applied for a lot of office assistant type jobs and a handful of phlebotomy/lab related jobs but haven't had much response. I'm thinking about applying at the video rental place at the end of the road just for something to do. Otherwise I'm at home with little to do. Our house is always spotless, I cook a lot, make sure the bills are paid, bathe the cat, all that sort of stuff (I still don't fold laundry). It's been nice to have the time/personal space to explore some hobbies - I've been doing a lot of "jewel-crafting", as Jake calls it, meaning that I've been beading/making jewelry. Joe thinks I should try to sell what I make, which I'm considering. I'm also trying to remember how to sew (which is challenging because I don't think I ever really knew before) and last week I made throw pillows to match our couch/window valance.
I guess that's about all that's going on around here. Until next time...
Besides the unsatisfactory weather, things are generally well. HayZeus is still hopping along, but at a pace that the vet is happy with. HayZeus is so excited to be allowed to jump onto things - for two weeks after his surgery he was on activity restrictions so he wasn't allowed to run or jump. Do you know how hard it is to keep a cat off the furniture? Impossible. We tipped our dining room table onto it's side, locked him out of the bedrooms and bathrooms, put the dining room chairs across the couch...everything we could think of to prevent him from jumping. But that little bastard still managed - open the bedroom for 3 seconds and he was curled up on the bed, right the dining room table to eat and he was up there with you....just impossible. Thankfully, we don't have to do that anymore. His incision is completely healed and his hair is growing back, although he still looks pretty freaky. :)
I'm starting to run out of things to do with my time. I go to class 6 hours a week, have about 20 minutes of homework for each class, and am occasionally insulted that I'm paying my algebra professer to teach me how to use a graphing calculator. I really like my algebra prof - she's a great teacher and I enjoy being in her class - but I'm not in middle school so I guess I'm expecting more out of the curriculum. I shouldn't complain because I put in very little effort to get A's in the class...but still, I'm paying for this? Ugh. My psych class makes me want to shove a pencil into my eye, so it's probably a good thing I only have it once a week.
So that leaves me with a lot of time on my hands. I've applied for a lot of office assistant type jobs and a handful of phlebotomy/lab related jobs but haven't had much response. I'm thinking about applying at the video rental place at the end of the road just for something to do. Otherwise I'm at home with little to do. Our house is always spotless, I cook a lot, make sure the bills are paid, bathe the cat, all that sort of stuff (I still don't fold laundry). It's been nice to have the time/personal space to explore some hobbies - I've been doing a lot of "jewel-crafting", as Jake calls it, meaning that I've been beading/making jewelry. Joe thinks I should try to sell what I make, which I'm considering. I'm also trying to remember how to sew (which is challenging because I don't think I ever really knew before) and last week I made throw pillows to match our couch/window valance.
I guess that's about all that's going on around here. Until next time...
Friday, October 3, 2008
Let's have a party!
Here's my political rant for the week (they'll pop up a few times between now and November 4th)
Today the House passed the much talked about "bailout bill". I'm excited about this. While I think the bulk of the bill is crap and that we shouldn't pay for banks' mistakes, it was inevitable that something like this would go through. Thus, I've found my peace with it in a tiny little amendment the Senate quietly tacked on - in all actuality, this amendment was the basis of the original bill that the bailout package was added onto. So while the bill has been deemed the "Emergency Stabilization Act of 2008" it started out as the "Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2008", which requires private insurance companies to cover mental health and addiction services on parity with medical surgical services. This includes treatment limits, co-pays, deductables, inpatient services (both in and out of network), emergency services, and out of pocket maximums.
This is huge. Our mental health coverage is horrible, as is many other Americans'. If the bill had been in effect in the past 10 months we'd have saved over a thousand dollars, and it will save us hundreds of dollars in future years as well. And there are many people out there that have worse coverage and more need for services, so I'm telling you I could practically throw a party with balloons and streamers and hats and cake.
Additionally, the Act also prohits insurance companies from discriminating against individuals based on genetic information - i.e. they cannot increase premiums, drop coverage, or evaluate enrollment eligibility based on the presence of a gene linked to any specific disease.
This is also huge - my Aunt has Huntingtons disease, which is passed on genetically. Each child has a 50/50 chance of getting the gene, and research shows that you cannot be a carrier - the gene is ALWAYS expressed. Thus if you have the gene, you will develop the disease. My Aunt and Uncle have three children. The oldest tested positive for the gene, but she's the only one who's opted to be tested, partly because of the possibility of discrimination based on the test results that can and does occur. So it's a little weight off the shoulders of those who have not been tested because they no longer have to fear loss of health coverage.
Anyway, I'm excited about that ammendment. There's a couple other ones that are good too - the ones that will actually help everyday Americans - but there's a lot of junk in the rest of it. I guess you sometimes have to trade the good for the bad.
So I've decided Congress isn't completely evil - at least not this week. Now if we could only get the legislative branch to follow suit...then I'd really have to throw a big bash!
Today the House passed the much talked about "bailout bill". I'm excited about this. While I think the bulk of the bill is crap and that we shouldn't pay for banks' mistakes, it was inevitable that something like this would go through. Thus, I've found my peace with it in a tiny little amendment the Senate quietly tacked on - in all actuality, this amendment was the basis of the original bill that the bailout package was added onto. So while the bill has been deemed the "Emergency Stabilization Act of 2008" it started out as the "Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2008", which requires private insurance companies to cover mental health and addiction services on parity with medical surgical services. This includes treatment limits, co-pays, deductables, inpatient services (both in and out of network), emergency services, and out of pocket maximums.
This is huge. Our mental health coverage is horrible, as is many other Americans'. If the bill had been in effect in the past 10 months we'd have saved over a thousand dollars, and it will save us hundreds of dollars in future years as well. And there are many people out there that have worse coverage and more need for services, so I'm telling you I could practically throw a party with balloons and streamers and hats and cake.
Additionally, the Act also prohits insurance companies from discriminating against individuals based on genetic information - i.e. they cannot increase premiums, drop coverage, or evaluate enrollment eligibility based on the presence of a gene linked to any specific disease.
This is also huge - my Aunt has Huntingtons disease, which is passed on genetically. Each child has a 50/50 chance of getting the gene, and research shows that you cannot be a carrier - the gene is ALWAYS expressed. Thus if you have the gene, you will develop the disease. My Aunt and Uncle have three children. The oldest tested positive for the gene, but she's the only one who's opted to be tested, partly because of the possibility of discrimination based on the test results that can and does occur. So it's a little weight off the shoulders of those who have not been tested because they no longer have to fear loss of health coverage.
Anyway, I'm excited about that ammendment. There's a couple other ones that are good too - the ones that will actually help everyday Americans - but there's a lot of junk in the rest of it. I guess you sometimes have to trade the good for the bad.
So I've decided Congress isn't completely evil - at least not this week. Now if we could only get the legislative branch to follow suit...then I'd really have to throw a big bash!
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Little HayZeus Hop-along
So it's been a long time since I last updated...sorry about that. We haven't had internet for the last weekish, so I haven't really had the chance.
The big (and bad) news around here is that poor HayZeus had a little fall. He was up on the bathroom counter, and while he'd been removed from the counter many times, he wasn't getting the point, so he was sort of given a little help vacating the counter...and hit an open cabinet door on the way down. I suppose that there's really no gentle way to say we (aka Joe) shoved him off the counter and broke him, but that makes us (aka Joe) sound like cat abusers. But we love our kitty!
It actually took us a while to figure out that he was injured - since when does pushing a cat off of a three foot ledge do damage? Anyway, we realized that he wasn't out in the living room hanging out with us, nor had he come to greet us at the door, so we went to investigate. We found him hiding out under the computer desk, which happens to be about three feet from his litterbox. I started petting his belly, which he always bites me for (it's a love nibble, apparently I'm tasty), but he didn't even glare at me. So we knew he wasn't feeling well, and once we got him to walk we saw he had a very pronounced limp.
In the morning he still hadn't moved from under the desk and hadn't eaten or drank anything, so I took him to the vet. We figured he had a really bad bruise or a cut we couldn't see, but the vet took x-rays to make sure. When she came back in the room with the films and a model of a cat skeleton in her hands, I knew we were in trouble. Poor kitty had a broken leg. A broken femur to be exact - the articulating surface of the bone (big round part that goes into the hip socket) broke off from the rest of the leg. It would have to be repaired surgically, either in that office or at a specialist in Charlotte. The latter sounded really expensive and scary to me and carried more risk, but I wanted to do the best for our kitty. The vet assured me there would be no difference in his quality of life if we went with the simpler, cheaper (cheap is really not a word that should be used here) procedure though, so we decided we'd do that. He couldn't have it right away though, so he spent the weekend in my closet (I made him a little kitty kave) drugged up and immobile. :( I had to help him into his litter box the first day, but he learned to compenstate pretty quick.
He had his surgery yesterday and I picked him up from the vet this morning. He was VERY happy to see me and looked TOTALLY pathetic. He has a 8x5 inch bald spot on his right rear, an ugly (although clean) incision, bright green bandages on two of his legs (from the IV and covering his pain patch) and a great big cone around his neck. Just sad. He's doing really well though. We've been able to take the cone collar off because he's been sleeping where we can see him and doesn't seem to be interested in licking his incision (yet). He's not allowed to run or jump or walk too much for the next week, but he's already weight bearing and hobbling around. He likes to sleep where we are.
So, little HayZeus Hop-along is going to be ok. He might have a slight limp forever, but the hope is that his decappitated femur will form a false joint with his hip. He doesn't move around a ton, but he generally doesn't seem to care that he's been shaved and cut open. Plus, I really like the vet's office we took him to - it's less than a mile from here, has flexible hours, and the three doctors that worked on our kitty were really thourough and really nice. :)
Aside from HayZeus, things are business as usual here. Joe is clearly enjoying his job and has joined a soccer league. It's a co-ed league, which Joe kinda forgot to mention (not that I'd actually care), so I'm going to have to be at the games to peel all the girls off of him. I know nothing about soccer, but I'm going to try to be a crazy soccer wife that screams at the other players from the stands. Especially the chicks.
My classes are going well and I've been looking for a part-time job. Actually, my classes are boring me to tears and I'm having a hard time not strangling my PY150 classmates (they are all very, very immature and close minded), so I'm ready to take on something else. I have to be listed on the NC CNA registry in order to be a nursing student, so I'm going to take that test soon. North Carolina allows people to attempt the test without taking a training class, and most of the skills they test on were covered in my NMU nursing classes...so I think I'm going to opt out of the training. Joe's going to have to be my guinea pig and let me make the bed while he's in it and practice some ROM exercises, but I'm sure he'll be a great pretend patient. Anyway, there seems to be a lot of CNA jobs in these parts, so hopefully I can find something with decent hours.
Perhaps tomorrow I'll take some pictures of HayZeus so you can all see how wierd he looks. Poor kitty :( I'm glad he's going to be ok!!
The big (and bad) news around here is that poor HayZeus had a little fall. He was up on the bathroom counter, and while he'd been removed from the counter many times, he wasn't getting the point, so he was sort of given a little help vacating the counter...and hit an open cabinet door on the way down. I suppose that there's really no gentle way to say we (aka Joe) shoved him off the counter and broke him, but that makes us (aka Joe) sound like cat abusers. But we love our kitty!
It actually took us a while to figure out that he was injured - since when does pushing a cat off of a three foot ledge do damage? Anyway, we realized that he wasn't out in the living room hanging out with us, nor had he come to greet us at the door, so we went to investigate. We found him hiding out under the computer desk, which happens to be about three feet from his litterbox. I started petting his belly, which he always bites me for (it's a love nibble, apparently I'm tasty), but he didn't even glare at me. So we knew he wasn't feeling well, and once we got him to walk we saw he had a very pronounced limp.
In the morning he still hadn't moved from under the desk and hadn't eaten or drank anything, so I took him to the vet. We figured he had a really bad bruise or a cut we couldn't see, but the vet took x-rays to make sure. When she came back in the room with the films and a model of a cat skeleton in her hands, I knew we were in trouble. Poor kitty had a broken leg. A broken femur to be exact - the articulating surface of the bone (big round part that goes into the hip socket) broke off from the rest of the leg. It would have to be repaired surgically, either in that office or at a specialist in Charlotte. The latter sounded really expensive and scary to me and carried more risk, but I wanted to do the best for our kitty. The vet assured me there would be no difference in his quality of life if we went with the simpler, cheaper (cheap is really not a word that should be used here) procedure though, so we decided we'd do that. He couldn't have it right away though, so he spent the weekend in my closet (I made him a little kitty kave) drugged up and immobile. :( I had to help him into his litter box the first day, but he learned to compenstate pretty quick.
He had his surgery yesterday and I picked him up from the vet this morning. He was VERY happy to see me and looked TOTALLY pathetic. He has a 8x5 inch bald spot on his right rear, an ugly (although clean) incision, bright green bandages on two of his legs (from the IV and covering his pain patch) and a great big cone around his neck. Just sad. He's doing really well though. We've been able to take the cone collar off because he's been sleeping where we can see him and doesn't seem to be interested in licking his incision (yet). He's not allowed to run or jump or walk too much for the next week, but he's already weight bearing and hobbling around. He likes to sleep where we are.
So, little HayZeus Hop-along is going to be ok. He might have a slight limp forever, but the hope is that his decappitated femur will form a false joint with his hip. He doesn't move around a ton, but he generally doesn't seem to care that he's been shaved and cut open. Plus, I really like the vet's office we took him to - it's less than a mile from here, has flexible hours, and the three doctors that worked on our kitty were really thourough and really nice. :)
Aside from HayZeus, things are business as usual here. Joe is clearly enjoying his job and has joined a soccer league. It's a co-ed league, which Joe kinda forgot to mention (not that I'd actually care), so I'm going to have to be at the games to peel all the girls off of him. I know nothing about soccer, but I'm going to try to be a crazy soccer wife that screams at the other players from the stands. Especially the chicks.
My classes are going well and I've been looking for a part-time job. Actually, my classes are boring me to tears and I'm having a hard time not strangling my PY150 classmates (they are all very, very immature and close minded), so I'm ready to take on something else. I have to be listed on the NC CNA registry in order to be a nursing student, so I'm going to take that test soon. North Carolina allows people to attempt the test without taking a training class, and most of the skills they test on were covered in my NMU nursing classes...so I think I'm going to opt out of the training. Joe's going to have to be my guinea pig and let me make the bed while he's in it and practice some ROM exercises, but I'm sure he'll be a great pretend patient. Anyway, there seems to be a lot of CNA jobs in these parts, so hopefully I can find something with decent hours.
Perhaps tomorrow I'll take some pictures of HayZeus so you can all see how wierd he looks. Poor kitty :( I'm glad he's going to be ok!!
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
I'm sure you've heard this rant before...
Should Smoking Around Kids Be Illegal?
I stumbled upon this article today and couldn't help but think about all of my wonderfully nicotine addicted family and friends. So yeah, I'm going to take a shot at you guys, possibly below the belt. Oops.
It might suprise you to know that my answer to the question the article poses is "no". But it's not because I respect a smoker's right to parent their children or smoke in their home or car. I don't respect that, at least not in a case when you are knowingly poisoning your children. Such a law wouldn't be resonable on a legal level though - even if it did squeak through the Supreme Court (which it wouldn't, and if it did we're in trouble...then again the Patriot Act is still kickin...) it's not enforcable and I don't see the point in making a law we can't back up. It opens the door to too many other things, like calling child abuse when a kid eats a cheeseburger. They are totally different situations, but not everyone in this country has the brains to figure that out.
The solution? Just ban smoking. If people are too stupid to not smoke around kids, then they shouldn't be allowed to smoke. There are a whole slue of substances in the world that are illegal because of the way they damage the human body. And yet, one of the few legal ones damages not only the body of the user, but the body of everyone around as well. So why should cigarettes be legal? We won't let people smoke pot, which is not addictvie *chemically* and has less harmful (but still harmful) smoke...so why should we let people smoke tobacco? Here's the real bitch of it all - when people smoke pot, they're 10000 time more respectful of those around them, probably because it's illegal. So if we make cigarettes illegal, logic says the same will happen for tobacco, right? I'm an adult, I have the ability and means to choose whether or not I want to put my lungs through a smoky environment (which you may have noticed I don't do very often). But how is a 5 year old supposed to tell you they won't get in the car because you're going to try to kill them on the way to school? They can't, and if they do they're probably going to get punished.
Every single smoker I know smokes around kids, whether it's their own or someone else's. Sure, some of the smokers in this world have make their homes smoke-free, which I applaud, but what about your cars? Why would you make your 800+ sq. ft. home smoke free but then lock your kids up in a 4x4 space and bombard them with toxins? Yeah, go a head and open that window. It fixes everything. You wouldn't lock your child in their bedroom and pump carbon monoxide into the room...but you have no problem pumping their lungs full of it in the car. Brilliant.
Many of my family members have smoke free homes, which again, I applaud. But not one of them has a smoke free car and not one of them is afraid to light up in someone else's house when children are around. I get it, you people are going to smoke until you can stop making excuses and quit, which might never happen. I'm sure you're going to be just as happy with those excuses when (God forbid) one of the children in your lives gets lung cancer. Because there's nothing like looking into a child's eyes and saying "I'm sorry you have cancer Jimmy, but I liked smoking too much to care abour your lungs."
Get a grip.
I stumbled upon this article today and couldn't help but think about all of my wonderfully nicotine addicted family and friends. So yeah, I'm going to take a shot at you guys, possibly below the belt. Oops.
It might suprise you to know that my answer to the question the article poses is "no". But it's not because I respect a smoker's right to parent their children or smoke in their home or car. I don't respect that, at least not in a case when you are knowingly poisoning your children. Such a law wouldn't be resonable on a legal level though - even if it did squeak through the Supreme Court (which it wouldn't, and if it did we're in trouble...then again the Patriot Act is still kickin...) it's not enforcable and I don't see the point in making a law we can't back up. It opens the door to too many other things, like calling child abuse when a kid eats a cheeseburger. They are totally different situations, but not everyone in this country has the brains to figure that out.
The solution? Just ban smoking. If people are too stupid to not smoke around kids, then they shouldn't be allowed to smoke. There are a whole slue of substances in the world that are illegal because of the way they damage the human body. And yet, one of the few legal ones damages not only the body of the user, but the body of everyone around as well. So why should cigarettes be legal? We won't let people smoke pot, which is not addictvie *chemically* and has less harmful (but still harmful) smoke...so why should we let people smoke tobacco? Here's the real bitch of it all - when people smoke pot, they're 10000 time more respectful of those around them, probably because it's illegal. So if we make cigarettes illegal, logic says the same will happen for tobacco, right? I'm an adult, I have the ability and means to choose whether or not I want to put my lungs through a smoky environment (which you may have noticed I don't do very often). But how is a 5 year old supposed to tell you they won't get in the car because you're going to try to kill them on the way to school? They can't, and if they do they're probably going to get punished.
Every single smoker I know smokes around kids, whether it's their own or someone else's. Sure, some of the smokers in this world have make their homes smoke-free, which I applaud, but what about your cars? Why would you make your 800+ sq. ft. home smoke free but then lock your kids up in a 4x4 space and bombard them with toxins? Yeah, go a head and open that window. It fixes everything. You wouldn't lock your child in their bedroom and pump carbon monoxide into the room...but you have no problem pumping their lungs full of it in the car. Brilliant.
Many of my family members have smoke free homes, which again, I applaud. But not one of them has a smoke free car and not one of them is afraid to light up in someone else's house when children are around. I get it, you people are going to smoke until you can stop making excuses and quit, which might never happen. I'm sure you're going to be just as happy with those excuses when (God forbid) one of the children in your lives gets lung cancer. Because there's nothing like looking into a child's eyes and saying "I'm sorry you have cancer Jimmy, but I liked smoking too much to care abour your lungs."
Get a grip.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Back to school...
So today is my first day of school..for the 20 something-ith time in my life. :) I remember when I first started college that I always had my stuff all set and ready to go no less than a week before classes started - books bought, color coded schedule taped to the front of my notebook, three ring binder with sections for each class (listed alphabetically of course!), the works. But now....I have class in 5 hours and I'm not even really sure where my book bag is! Either I've become much more laid back or I've decided that organization is overrated. But let's be honest, organization is never overrated with me, so it probably wouldn't be too much of a stretch to say I just don't have my "poop in a group" (as my Dad would say). That's ok, I've got 5 hours yet. I've always thought procrastination was underrated.
It's rainy and gross here today and I guess it's supposed to be like that for the rest of the week. Since all of my classes are in one building (actually, the entire college is in one building) I could care less if it's raining. Maybe if it's not sunny out I'll find it easier to pay attention in algebra. I find this unlikely, as I despise algebra, but who knows. I also have to go to orientation today (after class?) from 4-7. I was supposed to go to it last week, but I didn't get the memo on account of our mail being forwarded. I must say, I've been a real pain in the ass (duh) for this college in the last week and they've been gracious, friendly, and very helpful. It's like NMU but cuter. And with a dress code - a dress code that is more stringent than the one my high school carried. Interesting.
I guess that's it. I should probably work on that book bag thing, plus I have to vacuum. I've deemed Mondays as vacuum days, but I didn't do it yesterday on account of my chiropractor beating the crap out of me. She's rough, but really cool. I just wish she'd be nicer to my poor spine :(
It's rainy and gross here today and I guess it's supposed to be like that for the rest of the week. Since all of my classes are in one building (actually, the entire college is in one building) I could care less if it's raining. Maybe if it's not sunny out I'll find it easier to pay attention in algebra. I find this unlikely, as I despise algebra, but who knows. I also have to go to orientation today (after class?) from 4-7. I was supposed to go to it last week, but I didn't get the memo on account of our mail being forwarded. I must say, I've been a real pain in the ass (duh) for this college in the last week and they've been gracious, friendly, and very helpful. It's like NMU but cuter. And with a dress code - a dress code that is more stringent than the one my high school carried. Interesting.
I guess that's it. I should probably work on that book bag thing, plus I have to vacuum. I've deemed Mondays as vacuum days, but I didn't do it yesterday on account of my chiropractor beating the crap out of me. She's rough, but really cool. I just wish she'd be nicer to my poor spine :(
Monday, August 18, 2008
Just a little update
It's another beautiful day here in NC. It's strange to wake up and know you're going to wear shorts and a tank/t-shirt everyday instead of watching the forecast to see if it will be warm enough to wear short sleeves. The only problem we're having with this is that none of my shorts fit and Joe only has two pair of shorts. The pair I'm wearing today is staying on my hips only because I've got a couple safety pins taking them in on the sides. I guess we're going to have to go shopping... :)
I get the feeling that the neighborhood we live in is pretty safe. I see a lot of people on the ground floors with bikes and things on their patios and I haven't noticed any of them being locked up. The people at the pool are friendly, the kids are all inside at a decent hour, and everyone seems to respect the quiet hours established by the property managers. The maintenance guys are fast (and cute!) and take the time to pet the cat. They got my newspaper wet when the were power washing the entry ways, but I'll let that slide on account of their cuteness.
On Friday I went to the DMV to get my N.C. driver's license. Thankfully, I'd done my homework and made sure I had all the required documents and had even reviewed some stuff for the exam. But I'll tell you this - all of you Michiganders need to give your clerk a hug next time you go to the Secretary of State. In Michigan I've waited 20 minutes max to do everything from getting a new license (I lose them a lot) to renewing license plates to transferring titles. This is not the case here in N.C. To get your license, you go to the DMV and to get your plates you go to a different office that's across town. Oh, and by the way, you're going to wait 2-3 hours for your number to come up. Yeah, 3 hours, sitting on the floor (there weren't any chairs available when I got there and I was definitely not going to let 60 year old ladies and pregnant women stand) while I waited for my number to be called. And let me tell you, this isn't exactly the kinda place you want to even touch the walls, let alone sit against them. It was dirty, probably hadn't been remodeled since 1970, and was cramped. There was a sign up that said it was unsafe and unlawful to exceed the maximum occupancy of 43 people...but at any given time there were over 60 people there, and that didn't count the ones that were waiting outside. Tomorrow I have to repeat this process to get the jeep's plates transferred and then Joe will have to do both to get his license and transfer the impala. I miss the Sec. of State.
In addition to my experience at the DMV, I've found some other naiveties that have carried over from my small town upbringing. I established a PCP about a week after we got here, mostly because I needed a referral to make my first appointment with a psychiatrist. I knew it would take a little while to get into a psych, so I made sure I got in for the referral right away. All my meds are filled through the first week of September (some longer) so I figured I'd be all set up with a doc by then, three weeks should be long enough, right? Wrong. The first available appointment they had was for October 1st. I hope this long of a wait is only happening because I'm a new patient or I'll be looking for a different office, even if it means going to Charlotte. Thankfully my new PCP is really cool and had already called in refills for all my stuff before we even knew when the psych appointment was, just in case I needed them, which is awesome. But I'd been hoping to see a psychiatrist before my Ambien CR script ran out because I think I'd like to try something different given how much of a headache filling the Ambien has been. I hate the FDA and insurance companies.
I've also come to realize why people complain about WalMart so much. In Marquette the Walmart is clean, fairly organized, and the employees are generally helpful and nice. Sure, there are still some serious annoyances at that store, but nothing like down here. Walmart is always packed, people (both customers and workers) are either completely oblivious to that fact that there may be other people around and/or they are rude. The store is laid out in a way I don't understand (no flow). Oh, and it doesn't help that a little boy was molested in the bathroom there last week. So I've decided that I'm going to go somewhere else, like K-mart (which is less than a mile from here) or Target. I'm sure that keeping my sanity intact is going to be worth the extra money we'll spend.
Joe snagged us a cute little bistro patio set while he was in the U.P. (at Walmart actually...). Patio furniture isn't on clearance here yet...I'm not even sure it ever goes on clearance? It's really cute and sometime I'll post a picture of it but I don't feel like it right now. We spent most of last night sitting on the deck playing cards. The cat likes to come out with us, but wants to go in and out a lot. If we're out and he's not getting our attention to let him out he stretches up and tries to open the sliding door. If he only had thumbs.
My stomach is bugging me again today, which I'm not impressed with. This nausea thing is getting a little old. I can't seem to connect it with anything I do during the day, so I don't know why it comes and goes. And no, I'm not pregnant...why can't a woman be nauseous without everyone thinking she's knocked up? Yeesh. I'm thinking it's anxiety, but I don't feel anxious. I suppose I should see if a xanax helps anyway. I hate taking xanax, but probably not as much as being nauseous. Meh, I'll figure it out. At least I'm not having panic attacks, those really suck.
Jake starts school next week and he seems really excited. He's hoping his friend John that lives in 1304 (he's told me the kid's address like 10 times) will be in his class. John also has a little brother about 3 months older than Sam (but slightly smaller?) and Joe and Sara went over and met them all last night. They're excited to know someone in their neighborhood that speaks English well because they have a hard time understanding their other neighbors. Jonny didn't get accepted for the preschool program Sara was trying to get him into, but I'm sure that she'll appreciate having a break from at least one child everyday. The real cause of her stress is the combo of Jake and Jonny...they do everything they can to piss each other off. I hope they grow out of it, but I'm not going to hold my breath. They like coming to our house because they like our pool more than theirs. Since it's right out our door its not such a production to let them go for a swim and they've decided that the whole reason we have a second bed is for them to stay the night. Jake stayed on Friday and we spent a couple hours "jewel crafting" (that's World of Warcraft speak for beading), which he was beyond excited about. He made two necklaces, a bracelet, a pair of earrings, and a ring. I use the phrase "he made" very loosely...and I've gotta say I'm impressed with myself on the ring because it was my first time. He had a blast doing it though, so I think I'm probably going to have to get some more kid friendly supplies.
That's all for now. I've got stuff to do this afternoon, like go buy a picture frame, pick up my one hour photos from last week, vacuum (Mondays are vacuum day) and read up on IRAs and such so I can figure out where to roll my investments from Baxter. I guess they don't want to manage my accounts since I'm no longer an employee. Weird.
Toodles!
I get the feeling that the neighborhood we live in is pretty safe. I see a lot of people on the ground floors with bikes and things on their patios and I haven't noticed any of them being locked up. The people at the pool are friendly, the kids are all inside at a decent hour, and everyone seems to respect the quiet hours established by the property managers. The maintenance guys are fast (and cute!) and take the time to pet the cat. They got my newspaper wet when the were power washing the entry ways, but I'll let that slide on account of their cuteness.
On Friday I went to the DMV to get my N.C. driver's license. Thankfully, I'd done my homework and made sure I had all the required documents and had even reviewed some stuff for the exam. But I'll tell you this - all of you Michiganders need to give your clerk a hug next time you go to the Secretary of State. In Michigan I've waited 20 minutes max to do everything from getting a new license (I lose them a lot) to renewing license plates to transferring titles. This is not the case here in N.C. To get your license, you go to the DMV and to get your plates you go to a different office that's across town. Oh, and by the way, you're going to wait 2-3 hours for your number to come up. Yeah, 3 hours, sitting on the floor (there weren't any chairs available when I got there and I was definitely not going to let 60 year old ladies and pregnant women stand) while I waited for my number to be called. And let me tell you, this isn't exactly the kinda place you want to even touch the walls, let alone sit against them. It was dirty, probably hadn't been remodeled since 1970, and was cramped. There was a sign up that said it was unsafe and unlawful to exceed the maximum occupancy of 43 people...but at any given time there were over 60 people there, and that didn't count the ones that were waiting outside. Tomorrow I have to repeat this process to get the jeep's plates transferred and then Joe will have to do both to get his license and transfer the impala. I miss the Sec. of State.
In addition to my experience at the DMV, I've found some other naiveties that have carried over from my small town upbringing. I established a PCP about a week after we got here, mostly because I needed a referral to make my first appointment with a psychiatrist. I knew it would take a little while to get into a psych, so I made sure I got in for the referral right away. All my meds are filled through the first week of September (some longer) so I figured I'd be all set up with a doc by then, three weeks should be long enough, right? Wrong. The first available appointment they had was for October 1st. I hope this long of a wait is only happening because I'm a new patient or I'll be looking for a different office, even if it means going to Charlotte. Thankfully my new PCP is really cool and had already called in refills for all my stuff before we even knew when the psych appointment was, just in case I needed them, which is awesome. But I'd been hoping to see a psychiatrist before my Ambien CR script ran out because I think I'd like to try something different given how much of a headache filling the Ambien has been. I hate the FDA and insurance companies.
I've also come to realize why people complain about WalMart so much. In Marquette the Walmart is clean, fairly organized, and the employees are generally helpful and nice. Sure, there are still some serious annoyances at that store, but nothing like down here. Walmart is always packed, people (both customers and workers) are either completely oblivious to that fact that there may be other people around and/or they are rude. The store is laid out in a way I don't understand (no flow). Oh, and it doesn't help that a little boy was molested in the bathroom there last week. So I've decided that I'm going to go somewhere else, like K-mart (which is less than a mile from here) or Target. I'm sure that keeping my sanity intact is going to be worth the extra money we'll spend.
Joe snagged us a cute little bistro patio set while he was in the U.P. (at Walmart actually...). Patio furniture isn't on clearance here yet...I'm not even sure it ever goes on clearance? It's really cute and sometime I'll post a picture of it but I don't feel like it right now. We spent most of last night sitting on the deck playing cards. The cat likes to come out with us, but wants to go in and out a lot. If we're out and he's not getting our attention to let him out he stretches up and tries to open the sliding door. If he only had thumbs.
My stomach is bugging me again today, which I'm not impressed with. This nausea thing is getting a little old. I can't seem to connect it with anything I do during the day, so I don't know why it comes and goes. And no, I'm not pregnant...why can't a woman be nauseous without everyone thinking she's knocked up? Yeesh. I'm thinking it's anxiety, but I don't feel anxious. I suppose I should see if a xanax helps anyway. I hate taking xanax, but probably not as much as being nauseous. Meh, I'll figure it out. At least I'm not having panic attacks, those really suck.
Jake starts school next week and he seems really excited. He's hoping his friend John that lives in 1304 (he's told me the kid's address like 10 times) will be in his class. John also has a little brother about 3 months older than Sam (but slightly smaller?) and Joe and Sara went over and met them all last night. They're excited to know someone in their neighborhood that speaks English well because they have a hard time understanding their other neighbors. Jonny didn't get accepted for the preschool program Sara was trying to get him into, but I'm sure that she'll appreciate having a break from at least one child everyday. The real cause of her stress is the combo of Jake and Jonny...they do everything they can to piss each other off. I hope they grow out of it, but I'm not going to hold my breath. They like coming to our house because they like our pool more than theirs. Since it's right out our door its not such a production to let them go for a swim and they've decided that the whole reason we have a second bed is for them to stay the night. Jake stayed on Friday and we spent a couple hours "jewel crafting" (that's World of Warcraft speak for beading), which he was beyond excited about. He made two necklaces, a bracelet, a pair of earrings, and a ring. I use the phrase "he made" very loosely...and I've gotta say I'm impressed with myself on the ring because it was my first time. He had a blast doing it though, so I think I'm probably going to have to get some more kid friendly supplies.
That's all for now. I've got stuff to do this afternoon, like go buy a picture frame, pick up my one hour photos from last week, vacuum (Mondays are vacuum day) and read up on IRAs and such so I can figure out where to roll my investments from Baxter. I guess they don't want to manage my accounts since I'm no longer an employee. Weird.
Toodles!
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