Thursday, July 31, 2008
Short and Sweet
There was a copy of last week's Onion in the bathroom at work, the one with Queen Elizabeth II's pregnancy announcement complete with ultrasound image. One of my co-workers took it out of the bathroom with her to show everyone this horrible news exclaiming "An 80 year old woman should not be pregnant!" I didn't even know how to begin so I just walked away. Score one for the Onion.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Pool party on my deck - $35 cover charge
I'm happy to report that Delta Force Cat didn't eat the mouse on my bed. Actually, I don't know where he ate it, there is no evidence that mouse ever existed. Quick and efficient, that's my little killer! Now if I could get him to take that rabbit down in the back yard, his warrior-ness would be assured. I don't want him outside though. I'd never get him back in. I'll have to use a sling shot on that poor bunny. If the poor bunny would only leave my vegetation alone he'd be allowed to stay.
I got a parking ticket yesterday for not plugging the meter fast enough. I knew I was taking a chance because I only had enough for one hour but needed to stay for 1 1/2 hours. I weighed the risks assuming the potential ticket wouldn't be over $20. I missed the meter maid by 18 minutes and my reward was a $35 ticket courtesy of the Mpls Park & Rec Board. Now I know how they can afford the $50K water fountains. I wish I would have just not plugged it at all since I always need quarters but never seem to have any. How am I going to buy ice cream from the vending machine now? Dammit.
I'm going to buy a kiddie pool after work today so I can fill it up on my deck this weekend and soak while holding a fruity drink and wearing sunglasses. It'll be the perfect humidity breaker.
Time for coffee.
I got a parking ticket yesterday for not plugging the meter fast enough. I knew I was taking a chance because I only had enough for one hour but needed to stay for 1 1/2 hours. I weighed the risks assuming the potential ticket wouldn't be over $20. I missed the meter maid by 18 minutes and my reward was a $35 ticket courtesy of the Mpls Park & Rec Board. Now I know how they can afford the $50K water fountains. I wish I would have just not plugged it at all since I always need quarters but never seem to have any. How am I going to buy ice cream from the vending machine now? Dammit.
I'm going to buy a kiddie pool after work today so I can fill it up on my deck this weekend and soak while holding a fruity drink and wearing sunglasses. It'll be the perfect humidity breaker.
Time for coffee.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Decomp***
**aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh*** this is me decomposing, I mean decompressing, I mean relaxing. Whatever. The nursing home therapists and nurses gave dad the straight dope and told him he couldn't leave until he could live independently and that he was in complete control of determining when that would be. Now I don't have to keep wrestling with the "to force or not to force" conundrum. I'm also now starving because I couldn't eat until now, too many knots in the stomach. That also reminds me, I hope The Delta Force Cat didn't eat the mouse on my bed.
Pre-show jitters
Alright so, can someone else tell you what to do? Should people have a "right" to decide what happens to them when they lose the ability to take care of themselves? I'm considering this to be the point at which you can't feed yourself or physically move yourself. At first I would think the answer is yes since we're in America and all and there's that whole "free will" thing. If you were stuck where you couldn't take care of yourself yet wanted to live where ever you wanted to live, you'd want people to obey your wishes. Then again, what kind of person have you been? Are you good to other people? I think this matters because if one person has a right to decide where and how they live then others do too. The person who can no longer take care of themselves can sit at home but no one has to take care of him. I guess on paper and in philosophical discussions, you could say that one should be able to live as they choose but in reality, what you choose may not end up how you envisioned simply because no one else has to agree with you.
Let's say that you are adamant about living at home so that you can enjoy your home in your later years, sit in a chair and look out your window and not be bothered. The kicker is that you possibly would be bothered. Your image of peacefulness and contentment could be shattered because you need help to sit in that chair but there doesn't have to be anyone around to help you get in that chair.
When I try to force things outside of myself, it's resulted in a large amount of anger, frustration, pain, mostly anger, a lot of anger...but if I can somehow remove myself and not try to force, then I'm more relaxed. I might be sad at the outcome, but it's way better than anger. Anger is exhausting and futile.
Let's say that you are adamant about living at home so that you can enjoy your home in your later years, sit in a chair and look out your window and not be bothered. The kicker is that you possibly would be bothered. Your image of peacefulness and contentment could be shattered because you need help to sit in that chair but there doesn't have to be anyone around to help you get in that chair.
When I try to force things outside of myself, it's resulted in a large amount of anger, frustration, pain, mostly anger, a lot of anger...but if I can somehow remove myself and not try to force, then I'm more relaxed. I might be sad at the outcome, but it's way better than anger. Anger is exhausting and futile.
Delta Force Cat
The Cat struck again. He sat on guard in front of the DVD/VHS tape-holder-piece-of-furniture thingy all day yesterday and last night. I knew that meant he had smelled something and really believed there was something back there but I figured that was impossible since the furniture was right up against the wall with about a 1/4" space on top of the floor moulding. I know mice can squeeze into tiny spaces but there was no where for the mouse to go once it got back there...or so I thought. Around 8:00pm I pulled the furniture away from the wall but all I saw were some old cob webs and lots of dust (it hadn't been pulled out since it was first placed there on March 27th, 2007). I vacuumed behind it and then noticed that there was a space underneath the furniture piece. Since the vacuum didn't scare anything out, I then decided that there may have been something there at one time but it is now gone. That's right, I did not stoop down to look completely underneath the piece of furniture. Denial runs in the family.
This morning, The Cat was still sitting at attention. He hadn't moved since I went to bed. I mean that he was in the exact same position, he probably hadn't even blinked. I pulled the furniture out again to show him that there was nothing there and BAM! he flew right into the tiny space and came out with a mouse tail hanging from his mouth. He was like a little beige lightning bolt. He will now be known as Delta Force Cat. I thought about trying to get the mouse out of his mouth and into the garbage but Delta Force Cat demonstrated how that was not a plan he was agreeable with. He made such efficient use of the last one that I decided to let him keep it. I just hope he doesn't eat it on my bed.
Out of all the pest problems one can have, a rodent problem is definitely the easiest for me to deal with. Especially with Delta Force Cat around. If he doesn't get them, the D-Con does. I'll have to get into my furnace room and spray that foam insulate at every nook and cranny I can find.
This is an image that makes me giggle. Delta Force Cat, not the spray foam. It'll come in handy for the care conference today where the nurses and therapists will report in on dad's condition and then there will be discussion on what's to happen with him. I'm working on anger management techniques because, even though it feels good, yelling doesn't get anything done. No one listens to you when you yell. I'll have to be cool, calm and collected. Cool, calm and collected - cool, calm and collected....got it.
This morning, The Cat was still sitting at attention. He hadn't moved since I went to bed. I mean that he was in the exact same position, he probably hadn't even blinked. I pulled the furniture out again to show him that there was nothing there and BAM! he flew right into the tiny space and came out with a mouse tail hanging from his mouth. He was like a little beige lightning bolt. He will now be known as Delta Force Cat. I thought about trying to get the mouse out of his mouth and into the garbage but Delta Force Cat demonstrated how that was not a plan he was agreeable with. He made such efficient use of the last one that I decided to let him keep it. I just hope he doesn't eat it on my bed.
Out of all the pest problems one can have, a rodent problem is definitely the easiest for me to deal with. Especially with Delta Force Cat around. If he doesn't get them, the D-Con does. I'll have to get into my furnace room and spray that foam insulate at every nook and cranny I can find.
This is an image that makes me giggle. Delta Force Cat, not the spray foam. It'll come in handy for the care conference today where the nurses and therapists will report in on dad's condition and then there will be discussion on what's to happen with him. I'm working on anger management techniques because, even though it feels good, yelling doesn't get anything done. No one listens to you when you yell. I'll have to be cool, calm and collected. Cool, calm and collected - cool, calm and collected....got it.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Plowing Forward
Here I sit again, ready to embark on the week which will be filled with more roller coasters. Last Thursday and Friday, I hadn't heard from the nursing home or my mother and I thought that maybe the nursing home contacted her instead and that she was making decisions. It felt like I had been given a couple of days off. That wasn't the case. The nursing home just never returned my call and mom hadn't made any decisions. She still claims to not "know what to do with him" so it remains in a stalemate.
The morning my mom was moved out of ICU, the house doctor came in to check in as is required by the title "house doctor" and launched into a monologue about how you can't make people do things. He wanted a little history on my mom's environment to help him understand why she was there now. It was written in her chart that she was the caregiver to my dad so he asked her more about it. I said he was now in a nursing home and that we were going to try and have him stay there. That's when he started his one-man show on how ultimately, you can't make someone do something they don't want to do. I wanted to jump over the bed and tackle him, smashing his skull into the floor screaming "How can you not realise that he has to stay there??!!!" but I don't want to go to jail so I refrained.
After the anger subsided and several weeks passed, I now am begrudgingly willing to admit that he's right. I hate that he's right. It means that no matter how much I glare, how small I squint my eyes, I much I want to yell, there's no way to make my mom make a decision much less the decision I want her to make, and there's no way to make the monster realize he's in the best place for him. There comes a time when you just have to step back and watch everyone act in ways that you don't agree with and possibly watch them go down in flames.
On another note, my yearly therapy sessions are coming up very fast...that being the Renaissance. The very same event that Five Man Job parodied and holy shit! did they do a good job. If I ever see Lauren in the crowd, I'm going to try and sneak up and tie a kid to her. I call this my therapy because it's proven to be a way for me to work through stuff and entertain people at the same time. It's confusing but just trust me, it works. Although, I can feel that I have very little patience lately and I feel like really letting loose on people who create tense situations so they can later cry over them and hurt many other people's feelings in the process. Oh, would I love to really give them something to cry about. See! Right there, that's what I'm talking about. I'm going to have to get real-life, serious therapy before fest because I don't want to get kicked out.
Well dammit, I just got a call from a former supervisor in another department. He's going through a lot of crap right now too. We're both in the same boat as far as work goes because we're involved with the new financial system that doesn't work. He also has his partner in the hospital with Lymphoma so we swapped medical stories for awhile. Funny though, he ended the conversation by saying that I'll have to be extra entertaining at fest so he can live vicariously through me. Yikes. Now the pressure's on. Before, I would just assume that the strangers coming in may need a lift so I would try to do something funny and/or entertaining but now I really know someone's coming who needs it. I better figure out how to be entertaining quickly. I only have 19 days.
The morning my mom was moved out of ICU, the house doctor came in to check in as is required by the title "house doctor" and launched into a monologue about how you can't make people do things. He wanted a little history on my mom's environment to help him understand why she was there now. It was written in her chart that she was the caregiver to my dad so he asked her more about it. I said he was now in a nursing home and that we were going to try and have him stay there. That's when he started his one-man show on how ultimately, you can't make someone do something they don't want to do. I wanted to jump over the bed and tackle him, smashing his skull into the floor screaming "How can you not realise that he has to stay there??!!!" but I don't want to go to jail so I refrained.
After the anger subsided and several weeks passed, I now am begrudgingly willing to admit that he's right. I hate that he's right. It means that no matter how much I glare, how small I squint my eyes, I much I want to yell, there's no way to make my mom make a decision much less the decision I want her to make, and there's no way to make the monster realize he's in the best place for him. There comes a time when you just have to step back and watch everyone act in ways that you don't agree with and possibly watch them go down in flames.
On another note, my yearly therapy sessions are coming up very fast...that being the Renaissance. The very same event that Five Man Job parodied and holy shit! did they do a good job. If I ever see Lauren in the crowd, I'm going to try and sneak up and tie a kid to her. I call this my therapy because it's proven to be a way for me to work through stuff and entertain people at the same time. It's confusing but just trust me, it works. Although, I can feel that I have very little patience lately and I feel like really letting loose on people who create tense situations so they can later cry over them and hurt many other people's feelings in the process. Oh, would I love to really give them something to cry about. See! Right there, that's what I'm talking about. I'm going to have to get real-life, serious therapy before fest because I don't want to get kicked out.
Well dammit, I just got a call from a former supervisor in another department. He's going through a lot of crap right now too. We're both in the same boat as far as work goes because we're involved with the new financial system that doesn't work. He also has his partner in the hospital with Lymphoma so we swapped medical stories for awhile. Funny though, he ended the conversation by saying that I'll have to be extra entertaining at fest so he can live vicariously through me. Yikes. Now the pressure's on. Before, I would just assume that the strangers coming in may need a lift so I would try to do something funny and/or entertaining but now I really know someone's coming who needs it. I better figure out how to be entertaining quickly. I only have 19 days.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Yay Friday
My creative powers were not needed yesterday; instead, my persuasive powers saved the day and got this poor (literally) grad student's id# to work so she can get her reimbursements. Ah, one thing accomplished. Yay. I can also report that it is very humid out because my hair is very frizzy and Queen Elizabeth II is pregnant again...according to The Onion.
I left work yesterday with a pounding headache and without any hope for anything to ever turn out well again but a little fighting took care of that. I mean practicing swinging swords at friends. It's very good therapy. We didn't have a very intense practice but it was enough to get me to sweat and therefore feel better. Don't you always feel better after sweating? Okay, don't you sometimes feel better after sweating? I do.
I forgot my cell phone at home today. Can Freudian slips apply to things like forgetting items on purpose or does it only apply to speech? I really did forget it but it's also kind of nice to have forgotten it. That damn phone.
I'm thinking about going to see Dark Knight tonight. I haven't seen a movie outside of my living room for some time now. If you're going to fork out the dough to see a movie in the theater, it should be one like Dark Knight to get the feel of the bat mobile landing in your lap.
I'm off now to use my powers of my plebeian status to make the bourgeoisie feel guilty about demanding reimbursements before the downtrodden students get theirs by doling out rewards to those I feel are less fortunate and more deserving based on my perceptions of how much money people make and relate that directly to how much they "need" their reimbursements. What? Whatever. I think I'm having stress aftershocks. Happy Friday!
I left work yesterday with a pounding headache and without any hope for anything to ever turn out well again but a little fighting took care of that. I mean practicing swinging swords at friends. It's very good therapy. We didn't have a very intense practice but it was enough to get me to sweat and therefore feel better. Don't you always feel better after sweating? Okay, don't you sometimes feel better after sweating? I do.
I forgot my cell phone at home today. Can Freudian slips apply to things like forgetting items on purpose or does it only apply to speech? I really did forget it but it's also kind of nice to have forgotten it. That damn phone.
I'm thinking about going to see Dark Knight tonight. I haven't seen a movie outside of my living room for some time now. If you're going to fork out the dough to see a movie in the theater, it should be one like Dark Knight to get the feel of the bat mobile landing in your lap.
I'm off now to use my powers of my plebeian status to make the bourgeoisie feel guilty about demanding reimbursements before the downtrodden students get theirs by doling out rewards to those I feel are less fortunate and more deserving based on my perceptions of how much money people make and relate that directly to how much they "need" their reimbursements. What? Whatever. I think I'm having stress aftershocks. Happy Friday!
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Do I Have To Have A Creative Title?
Ever argue with a brick wall? Is it possible to win that argument? I have to practice before next Tuesday when the "care conference" is held to try and convince my dad to move out of his temporary room to a long-term room. He was asked to do this yesterday and refused. He can refuse to do this but it's only delaying the inevitable.
When I got the call from the Social Worker, I could actually feel my blood pressure rising, or maybe it was the blood draining from my head, I'm not sure but I definitely had a physical reaction. After a few moments of processing, I made some calls and did a little digging to find out that the nursing home cannot release him to an unsafe environment, which is what my parents' home currently is. If by chance this does happen, I would call Adult Protection Services who would then have to report it and call 911 to have an ambulance transport him to a safe environment which is the nursing home. This expense will just eat away his annuity and waste a lot of time. If that's how he wants to do it though, I'm willing. During one of his fits of anger, he told my mom he wanted a divorce. I told her to take him up on it. Nice way out. I'm sick of writing about this.
I've finally found a good cause for my powers of creative accounting. There are a number of employees whose id#'s didn't convert to the new system which is preventing them from being reimbursed. A number of graduate students are on this list. To circumvent this predicament, I've discovered another route the reimbursement can take on it's way back to the owner's pocketbook. It follows the policies it just follows a more complicated paper trail to get there. These poor students (literally) can't wait more than a month to get that big chunk of change back. If it were $50, it wouldn't be worth it but the balances are up close to $1K.
The Good Shepard went back uncompleted because I just don't feel like watching it now. It'll get back in the line up for another try. I can't remember what I have coming next. This is kind of fun. I'm going to purposely not check anymore so I can be surprised every few days. I hope I like what I picked. It case I've lost you, I'm referring to my Netflix queue.
I'm tired. I'm going to go invent new ways of giving people money.
When I got the call from the Social Worker, I could actually feel my blood pressure rising, or maybe it was the blood draining from my head, I'm not sure but I definitely had a physical reaction. After a few moments of processing, I made some calls and did a little digging to find out that the nursing home cannot release him to an unsafe environment, which is what my parents' home currently is. If by chance this does happen, I would call Adult Protection Services who would then have to report it and call 911 to have an ambulance transport him to a safe environment which is the nursing home. This expense will just eat away his annuity and waste a lot of time. If that's how he wants to do it though, I'm willing. During one of his fits of anger, he told my mom he wanted a divorce. I told her to take him up on it. Nice way out. I'm sick of writing about this.
I've finally found a good cause for my powers of creative accounting. There are a number of employees whose id#'s didn't convert to the new system which is preventing them from being reimbursed. A number of graduate students are on this list. To circumvent this predicament, I've discovered another route the reimbursement can take on it's way back to the owner's pocketbook. It follows the policies it just follows a more complicated paper trail to get there. These poor students (literally) can't wait more than a month to get that big chunk of change back. If it were $50, it wouldn't be worth it but the balances are up close to $1K.
The Good Shepard went back uncompleted because I just don't feel like watching it now. It'll get back in the line up for another try. I can't remember what I have coming next. This is kind of fun. I'm going to purposely not check anymore so I can be surprised every few days. I hope I like what I picked. It case I've lost you, I'm referring to my Netflix queue.
I'm tired. I'm going to go invent new ways of giving people money.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Balancing Act
This is hard. I'm trying to balance out again. I feel like a ping pong ball right now; bouncing between extremes. Maybe that's normal. It'd be nice to be normal. How do you know if you are? There should be some kind of checklist. A therapist probably has a checklist.
Last winter, I decided it would be very good for me to see a therapist so I started looking into it. I should have just called the first name on the provider list instead of "looking into it". With my tendencies to go overboard, my looking into it prevented me from ever choosing one.
I first looked into one "crises center' option for U of M staff and students but all of their newsletters came with a list of symptoms of which possession of a few would indicate that you may be clinically depressed which they would then send you to your MD for medication. I don't want medication. I then turned to the mental/behavioral health providers in my health insurance plan but I stopped looking into it. I can't remember why. Something else must have distracted me.
Okay, here's an annoying habit for you and perhaps a few of you share this. I have music or some noise on 90% of the time I'm awake. Now, of course when I'm awake, I also tend to think deep thoughts much like Jack Handy back when SNL was funny. This combination can sometimes lead to song lyrics breaking into my deep thoughts and that song then serves to remind me of that deep thought whenever I hear it much like these lyrics just did:
"And I don't want the world to see me, 'cause I don't think that they'd understand. When everything's made to be broken, I just want you to know who I am". The most annoying thing is I don't even like this song.
Why do cats have to chew pens? What is it about writing implements that drive cats to put their mouths on it? Whenever I've pulled a pen out and there's a cat in the vicinity, it's mouth and/or paw ends up affecting my cursive. I bring this up now because I've just spent the last few moments trying to shush away my cat with the very object that's driving his obsession. Here's another thing; try to hold a pen and not point with it. It's hard.
Last winter, I decided it would be very good for me to see a therapist so I started looking into it. I should have just called the first name on the provider list instead of "looking into it". With my tendencies to go overboard, my looking into it prevented me from ever choosing one.
I first looked into one "crises center' option for U of M staff and students but all of their newsletters came with a list of symptoms of which possession of a few would indicate that you may be clinically depressed which they would then send you to your MD for medication. I don't want medication. I then turned to the mental/behavioral health providers in my health insurance plan but I stopped looking into it. I can't remember why. Something else must have distracted me.
Okay, here's an annoying habit for you and perhaps a few of you share this. I have music or some noise on 90% of the time I'm awake. Now, of course when I'm awake, I also tend to think deep thoughts much like Jack Handy back when SNL was funny. This combination can sometimes lead to song lyrics breaking into my deep thoughts and that song then serves to remind me of that deep thought whenever I hear it much like these lyrics just did:
"And I don't want the world to see me, 'cause I don't think that they'd understand. When everything's made to be broken, I just want you to know who I am". The most annoying thing is I don't even like this song.
Why do cats have to chew pens? What is it about writing implements that drive cats to put their mouths on it? Whenever I've pulled a pen out and there's a cat in the vicinity, it's mouth and/or paw ends up affecting my cursive. I bring this up now because I've just spent the last few moments trying to shush away my cat with the very object that's driving his obsession. Here's another thing; try to hold a pen and not point with it. It's hard.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Return to the mundane
I'm back at work now and couldn't be happier. Well, I could be happier if my property values soared yet taxes went down and insurance was obsolete, but I'll take what I can get.
I met with some people at the nursing home today to get dad on track to stay there permanently and to get the finances in order. I'm starting my graduate thesis on Medicaid this afternoon so that I'm ready for the oral exams in six months when hopefully the assistance will kick in. I plan on becoming so well versed in this madness called public medical assistance that I could be given only a few random facts on a complete stranger and be able to tell him/her what forms to fill out, who to send them to and what the result will be. I'm going to become the Carnac the Magnificent of Medicaid.
I managed to work on my lawn yesterday afternoon as a way to relax. I pulled two garbage bags' worth of broad leaf plantain. If you don't know what that is, you're very lucky. I then mowed and put down more grass seed. The trick now will be to keep it watered well enough so that the seed actually germinates.
I also watched American Splendor last night. If you've ever wondered whether your life story would be interesting enough for a movie, it just might be. There isn't anything particularly earth-shattering that happens in Harvey Pekar's life but I still found the movie to be very good because of the ability to relate to it. I know people similar to those in the movie and can relate to the work environment. While my mind didn't expand and I didn't exercise my analytical capabilities to figure out who dunnit, I had an enjoyable time watching it. Does that sound good? I mean it to sound good.
I tried watching The Good Shepard the other night but fell asleep after about an hour. It's not boring or bad, I was just very tired. I'm going to give it another try tonight. I'm finding it to be a bit slow-moving. I know who the woman on the tape is, I just wish they would get to it already. If there's a twist and you know what it is, hush up and don't ruin it for me.
I've wasted enough time on this silly obsession of mine, so time to get back to work and prioritize my work load to accomplish something by the end of the week. Get out and enjoy the weather...it'll be good for you.
I met with some people at the nursing home today to get dad on track to stay there permanently and to get the finances in order. I'm starting my graduate thesis on Medicaid this afternoon so that I'm ready for the oral exams in six months when hopefully the assistance will kick in. I plan on becoming so well versed in this madness called public medical assistance that I could be given only a few random facts on a complete stranger and be able to tell him/her what forms to fill out, who to send them to and what the result will be. I'm going to become the Carnac the Magnificent of Medicaid.
I managed to work on my lawn yesterday afternoon as a way to relax. I pulled two garbage bags' worth of broad leaf plantain. If you don't know what that is, you're very lucky. I then mowed and put down more grass seed. The trick now will be to keep it watered well enough so that the seed actually germinates.
I also watched American Splendor last night. If you've ever wondered whether your life story would be interesting enough for a movie, it just might be. There isn't anything particularly earth-shattering that happens in Harvey Pekar's life but I still found the movie to be very good because of the ability to relate to it. I know people similar to those in the movie and can relate to the work environment. While my mind didn't expand and I didn't exercise my analytical capabilities to figure out who dunnit, I had an enjoyable time watching it. Does that sound good? I mean it to sound good.
I tried watching The Good Shepard the other night but fell asleep after about an hour. It's not boring or bad, I was just very tired. I'm going to give it another try tonight. I'm finding it to be a bit slow-moving. I know who the woman on the tape is, I just wish they would get to it already. If there's a twist and you know what it is, hush up and don't ruin it for me.
I've wasted enough time on this silly obsession of mine, so time to get back to work and prioritize my work load to accomplish something by the end of the week. Get out and enjoy the weather...it'll be good for you.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Sunday....finally
I need a shower and a comfy bed. I got a comfy bed last night and was so tired that I didn't even budge when the noisy neighbors kept moving their party out to the front lawn every now and then which is right by my bedroom window.
I did a marathon session of getting mom's house cleaned and everything fixed before she comes home this morning. She had started taking the kitchen sink plumbing apart on Wednesday as she getting into her seizure episode. Being in a state of confusion, all she managed to do was to dismantle the pipes leading to the trap and the dishwasher hose. The doors were off of the cabinet and all the cleaning supplies were sitting on the floor. She also clamped a big monkey wrench onto one pipe for no apparent reason but that's what happens during her seizures. I thought I might be able to get a family-friend plumber over on Saturday to fix it but that didn't happen so I had to call Uncle Jerry again to fix it. He had offered before but I turned him down because he had done so much already and I hated adding to that tab. He did come over though and it took three hours to get everything fixed. The dishwasher hose kept leaking because it didn't fit snug to the drain pipe so we needed more clamps. After two trips to Home Depot for parts and some fuses since a fuse blew in the kitchen and mom didn't have any new ones laying around, the pipes were completed with no leaking and the fuses were replaced. Some lights still don't work but I think the bulbs need to be replaced now.
I scrubbed the floors, vacuumed, did the laundry, cleaned the bathroom and kitchen, and after pipe-fixing was complete, did the dishes. Mom gets to come home to a clean house that doesn't smell like urine anymore. She doesn't get a completed toilet yet though. The lid and rim had to be taken off to get dad's handicapped contraption to fit over the toilet. I took all that stuff off and wanted to return the toilet to normal but couldn't find the lid and rim anywhere. My mom has an ungodly amount of stuff in that house and every last item has a place. The only issue with this is that my mom is the only one to know what those places are. I scoured the house looking for the toilet parts but couldn't find them. When I got back to the hospital last night to report in, mom said it's in the basement and she knows exactly where they are. Go figure.
Things are now wrapping up on this episode; the neighbors and family have all been called with the final report, invalids are either in homes with their stuff or in the hospital waiting to be picked up, homes are cleaned (except for my own which will get it this afternoon), and dogs have been fed and walked.
So...what's up with this Stare Down improv thing and how did the Fotis preview go? Did the Twins win? Not that I care but I like to be abreast of current news items. Is there a write-up yet on the new BNW show? Did Obama or McCain do anything stupid that is in the news yet? Did anyone associated with Obama or McCain do anything stupid that is in the news yet? I still have to finish that goddamn bodice.
I did a marathon session of getting mom's house cleaned and everything fixed before she comes home this morning. She had started taking the kitchen sink plumbing apart on Wednesday as she getting into her seizure episode. Being in a state of confusion, all she managed to do was to dismantle the pipes leading to the trap and the dishwasher hose. The doors were off of the cabinet and all the cleaning supplies were sitting on the floor. She also clamped a big monkey wrench onto one pipe for no apparent reason but that's what happens during her seizures. I thought I might be able to get a family-friend plumber over on Saturday to fix it but that didn't happen so I had to call Uncle Jerry again to fix it. He had offered before but I turned him down because he had done so much already and I hated adding to that tab. He did come over though and it took three hours to get everything fixed. The dishwasher hose kept leaking because it didn't fit snug to the drain pipe so we needed more clamps. After two trips to Home Depot for parts and some fuses since a fuse blew in the kitchen and mom didn't have any new ones laying around, the pipes were completed with no leaking and the fuses were replaced. Some lights still don't work but I think the bulbs need to be replaced now.
I scrubbed the floors, vacuumed, did the laundry, cleaned the bathroom and kitchen, and after pipe-fixing was complete, did the dishes. Mom gets to come home to a clean house that doesn't smell like urine anymore. She doesn't get a completed toilet yet though. The lid and rim had to be taken off to get dad's handicapped contraption to fit over the toilet. I took all that stuff off and wanted to return the toilet to normal but couldn't find the lid and rim anywhere. My mom has an ungodly amount of stuff in that house and every last item has a place. The only issue with this is that my mom is the only one to know what those places are. I scoured the house looking for the toilet parts but couldn't find them. When I got back to the hospital last night to report in, mom said it's in the basement and she knows exactly where they are. Go figure.
Things are now wrapping up on this episode; the neighbors and family have all been called with the final report, invalids are either in homes with their stuff or in the hospital waiting to be picked up, homes are cleaned (except for my own which will get it this afternoon), and dogs have been fed and walked.
So...what's up with this Stare Down improv thing and how did the Fotis preview go? Did the Twins win? Not that I care but I like to be abreast of current news items. Is there a write-up yet on the new BNW show? Did Obama or McCain do anything stupid that is in the news yet? Did anyone associated with Obama or McCain do anything stupid that is in the news yet? I still have to finish that goddamn bodice.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Friday
So it’s now the next night and the knot in my stomach has been unraveled…pretty much. Mom was moved out of ICU this morning and was much more clear and alert but couldn’t remember what had happened yesterday. She wasn’t sure if she remembered seeing me or if she had dreamed it and in reality, it was probably a combination of the two.
I got dad to the clinic for his physical with help from his brother, good ‘ole Uncle Jerry who kicked his ass last time. The doctor was the one who first let the “nursing home” phrase be uttered aloud to which dad’s facial expression changed and he became angry. He did not voice it though. I was certain once he knew where he was going he would become vocal about the whole thing but he kept it inside, letting it slowly simmer where I hope it is now keeping him from getting any sleep or peace of mind. We were able to transport him directly from the clinic to the home and made it through admissions within 15 minutes after which I left to go back and get his crap, returned with it, unpacked it, turned around and left the room. That was that. He is trying to call mom at the hospital. I didn’t give him the number and I don’t think the nursing home knows where she is so there is another thing for him to sit and simmer over. I gave mom his number and she has the option of calling him if she wants to. I say let him simmer longer, I don’t think he’s done yet.
At one point this evening, I managed to be at the wrong place at the wrong time which was my parents’ home to pick up his medications and let the dog out. When their phone rang, I saw that it was the nursing home calling so I thought I better answer in the event that he fell and finally hit his head. That wasn’t the case. It was him calling to tell me to bring his medications (which I already knew and was in the process of doing) and to tell mom to call him. I said “yeah sure” and hung up but the experience strangely left me edgy. I was very irritated at just hearing his voice. Isn’t it both odd and upsetting that people can still have that kind of control over you even though you’re a full-fledged adult? Ah life. Anywho, I’ve gotten over that hump so know it’s on into the future.
Monday, I’ll be going through Medicaid documents to get that ball rolling and also looking into alternate forms of income from our 42 acres in Wisconsin. Finances, finally, a subject I feel confident about.
On another note, I’ve discovered that I may be off the grid. Wednesday night as the cops and my parents’ neighbor were trying to contact me, the cops were unable to locate an address or photo in their magical little database thingy. When the cops started asking for my description (perhaps an APB would get me out of bed to turn my phone on) and out of desperation, the neighbor blurted out “she has bushy hair!” and later was very apologetic for calling it bushy. Hey, you gotta call it like you see it. That made me giggle. The electric company knows everything about me but the government wouldn’t be able to identify me if my body washed up on the shores of the Mississippi. I better make sure I’m a strong swimmer.
People who choose to make any medical-type environment their career are really amazing people. They have my undying gratitude. I’m looking forward to sleeping tonight and seeing what’s going to happen tomorrow.
I got dad to the clinic for his physical with help from his brother, good ‘ole Uncle Jerry who kicked his ass last time. The doctor was the one who first let the “nursing home” phrase be uttered aloud to which dad’s facial expression changed and he became angry. He did not voice it though. I was certain once he knew where he was going he would become vocal about the whole thing but he kept it inside, letting it slowly simmer where I hope it is now keeping him from getting any sleep or peace of mind. We were able to transport him directly from the clinic to the home and made it through admissions within 15 minutes after which I left to go back and get his crap, returned with it, unpacked it, turned around and left the room. That was that. He is trying to call mom at the hospital. I didn’t give him the number and I don’t think the nursing home knows where she is so there is another thing for him to sit and simmer over. I gave mom his number and she has the option of calling him if she wants to. I say let him simmer longer, I don’t think he’s done yet.
At one point this evening, I managed to be at the wrong place at the wrong time which was my parents’ home to pick up his medications and let the dog out. When their phone rang, I saw that it was the nursing home calling so I thought I better answer in the event that he fell and finally hit his head. That wasn’t the case. It was him calling to tell me to bring his medications (which I already knew and was in the process of doing) and to tell mom to call him. I said “yeah sure” and hung up but the experience strangely left me edgy. I was very irritated at just hearing his voice. Isn’t it both odd and upsetting that people can still have that kind of control over you even though you’re a full-fledged adult? Ah life. Anywho, I’ve gotten over that hump so know it’s on into the future.
Monday, I’ll be going through Medicaid documents to get that ball rolling and also looking into alternate forms of income from our 42 acres in Wisconsin. Finances, finally, a subject I feel confident about.
On another note, I’ve discovered that I may be off the grid. Wednesday night as the cops and my parents’ neighbor were trying to contact me, the cops were unable to locate an address or photo in their magical little database thingy. When the cops started asking for my description (perhaps an APB would get me out of bed to turn my phone on) and out of desperation, the neighbor blurted out “she has bushy hair!” and later was very apologetic for calling it bushy. Hey, you gotta call it like you see it. That made me giggle. The electric company knows everything about me but the government wouldn’t be able to identify me if my body washed up on the shores of the Mississippi. I better make sure I’m a strong swimmer.
People who choose to make any medical-type environment their career are really amazing people. They have my undying gratitude. I’m looking forward to sleeping tonight and seeing what’s going to happen tomorrow.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Thursday
I turn my phone off at night. In the past, I had someone calling late, around midnight, with the wrong number. After my brother died and I had missed the call, I decided that if anyone was calling for that, it didn’t matter when I got the call, they’d still be dead. Not really morbid, just practical.
I turned my phone off Wednesday night and was greeted with a message in the morning when I had gotten to work from my parents’ neighbor telling me to call her right away because my mom had been taken to the hospital. That message was followed by another message from the night shift emergency room doctor at Fairview Southdale telling me to call her.
This, of course, was done immediately (I mean that I called each person back) and found out that my mom had been having seizures which probably started Wednesday afternoon and carried on into the night when my dad had called 911 at the same time that the neighbor came over to see what was going on to cause all of the lights to still be on at 10:30pm when they usually go to bed by 9:00pm.
My mom has Seizure Disorder first diagnosed in 1985. She’s been doing well but even with the best medication at the right dosage, she still has a chance to have a seizure every now and then. For some reason, this one turned out to be quite a large one. It wasn’t a grand mal where you’re wrything around on the ground, she most often gets the kind where all you really notice are large, glassy eyes and very peculiar behavior. What’s going on inside the body is very taxing. She was taken to the hospital that night where I met up with her Thursday morning.
Before getting to the hospital, I had called about three people including my uncle, asking him yet again if he could go over and keep an eye on my dad. There was no way in hell I was going to go over there and see him. I also started the process to get him into a nursing home again. This was more of a chore than it had been in October. For the next six hours, I would go back and forth between the “normal” medical floor of Fairview to the ICU where mom was transferred after the neurosurgeon determined she was seizing again to the medical building across the street was dad’s doctor is to get the paperwork done only to find out that dad has to actually come in for a physical and there was no way to get him in that day.
That’s what made me the most upset. I knew I was going to end up having a bigger battle on my hands this time getting him out of the house and into the home. I have to now drag him to the clinic office for an hour before dragging him off to the home and am anticipating him fighting all the way. I may be surprised. He tends to behave better around non-family members and he actually likes the doctor he’ll be seeing tomorrow. I’m going to switch into autopilot to get him out of the door, in the car, out of the car, into the waiting room, the doctor takes over, I get him back into the car, drive to the home, get him out, get him admitted. I’ll then go back to the house and get his belongings and bring them to his new home for permanent keeping.
The fact that my mom had such a bad stint of seizures isn’t too upsetting because I know she’s surrounded by professionals who know her and know what to do with her. I also know I won’t get a fight with her. I know that I’m going to get that with my dad and having to wait to get it over with is agonizing. It may have been very upsetting the first time back in October but at least it came up and was done in about three hours. This time, it started twelve hours ago and I still have thirteen and a half hours to go. I just keep thinking that at this time Friday night, it’ll all be over.
I turned my phone off Wednesday night and was greeted with a message in the morning when I had gotten to work from my parents’ neighbor telling me to call her right away because my mom had been taken to the hospital. That message was followed by another message from the night shift emergency room doctor at Fairview Southdale telling me to call her.
This, of course, was done immediately (I mean that I called each person back) and found out that my mom had been having seizures which probably started Wednesday afternoon and carried on into the night when my dad had called 911 at the same time that the neighbor came over to see what was going on to cause all of the lights to still be on at 10:30pm when they usually go to bed by 9:00pm.
My mom has Seizure Disorder first diagnosed in 1985. She’s been doing well but even with the best medication at the right dosage, she still has a chance to have a seizure every now and then. For some reason, this one turned out to be quite a large one. It wasn’t a grand mal where you’re wrything around on the ground, she most often gets the kind where all you really notice are large, glassy eyes and very peculiar behavior. What’s going on inside the body is very taxing. She was taken to the hospital that night where I met up with her Thursday morning.
Before getting to the hospital, I had called about three people including my uncle, asking him yet again if he could go over and keep an eye on my dad. There was no way in hell I was going to go over there and see him. I also started the process to get him into a nursing home again. This was more of a chore than it had been in October. For the next six hours, I would go back and forth between the “normal” medical floor of Fairview to the ICU where mom was transferred after the neurosurgeon determined she was seizing again to the medical building across the street was dad’s doctor is to get the paperwork done only to find out that dad has to actually come in for a physical and there was no way to get him in that day.
That’s what made me the most upset. I knew I was going to end up having a bigger battle on my hands this time getting him out of the house and into the home. I have to now drag him to the clinic office for an hour before dragging him off to the home and am anticipating him fighting all the way. I may be surprised. He tends to behave better around non-family members and he actually likes the doctor he’ll be seeing tomorrow. I’m going to switch into autopilot to get him out of the door, in the car, out of the car, into the waiting room, the doctor takes over, I get him back into the car, drive to the home, get him out, get him admitted. I’ll then go back to the house and get his belongings and bring them to his new home for permanent keeping.
The fact that my mom had such a bad stint of seizures isn’t too upsetting because I know she’s surrounded by professionals who know her and know what to do with her. I also know I won’t get a fight with her. I know that I’m going to get that with my dad and having to wait to get it over with is agonizing. It may have been very upsetting the first time back in October but at least it came up and was done in about three hours. This time, it started twelve hours ago and I still have thirteen and a half hours to go. I just keep thinking that at this time Friday night, it’ll all be over.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
I'll need mocha with that please
I think the coffee guy forgot to put the mocha in my iced mocha. Now my whole day is ruined.
I was little Miss Productive last night to the point that I forgot to go to the neighborhood meeting about the proposed ghetto unit at the end of my block. Maybe 'ghetto' is a bit harsh but I have no mocha in my iced mocha and cold-hearted bitchness is the result.
I'm back in the poor house again so I've nixed the rest of the classes I was going to take for the summer so that I can afford the performance series that the lovely Ms. Kennedy is teaching starting in August. I believe that this is going to be very good for me although I'll be scared shitless by the end when it comes time to actually perform. Right now though, I'm quite excited and have found a drum solo I'd like to use. It's five minutes long which is long for a performance of someone classified in the intermediate range. We'll see. Actually, I'll see and you won't because I'm not going to tell you when I perform. It's enough that I'm telling you that I'm doing it, you don't actually get to see it.
I watched another David Cronenberg movie last night, A History of Violence, and wasn't impressed at all. In fact, I was quite disappointed. The story is adapted from a graphic novel and hopefully the novel reads better than the movie because ceeehrist these characters are stupid. The Barney Phife of the small town claims that he has to know if the main character, Tom, is in a witness protection program. If Tom tells you then Tom will die...or at least have to move again. Tom's wife, while being a lawyer, can't seem to control her emotions or bodily functions by crying at the drop of a hat and puking at important breakthroughs, sometimes doing both at the same time. Adding to the list of moronic moves, two mob guys make the stupidest moves in the history of stupid moves and I couldn't help but wonder how they had risen through the ranks of mobdom by being that stupid. It was a waste of a Netflix choice. I can't remember what I have coming next but anything's gotta be better than this crap. I feel confident in saying that because I know that I don't have The Scorpion King on my list and in all my years of movie watching, that's the only movie I haven't made it all the way through.
Iron Man is playing at the Riverview theater which has the best popcorn in any movie theater ever and has cheap seats. I may get to see a movie in a real-live movie theater after all this summer. It's also within walking distance. I'm so economical it's a wonder I've gotten myself into the poor house to begin with. Oh yeah, impulsive spending, that's what did it.
Work beckons...see ya.
I was little Miss Productive last night to the point that I forgot to go to the neighborhood meeting about the proposed ghetto unit at the end of my block. Maybe 'ghetto' is a bit harsh but I have no mocha in my iced mocha and cold-hearted bitchness is the result.
I'm back in the poor house again so I've nixed the rest of the classes I was going to take for the summer so that I can afford the performance series that the lovely Ms. Kennedy is teaching starting in August. I believe that this is going to be very good for me although I'll be scared shitless by the end when it comes time to actually perform. Right now though, I'm quite excited and have found a drum solo I'd like to use. It's five minutes long which is long for a performance of someone classified in the intermediate range. We'll see. Actually, I'll see and you won't because I'm not going to tell you when I perform. It's enough that I'm telling you that I'm doing it, you don't actually get to see it.
I watched another David Cronenberg movie last night, A History of Violence, and wasn't impressed at all. In fact, I was quite disappointed. The story is adapted from a graphic novel and hopefully the novel reads better than the movie because ceeehrist these characters are stupid. The Barney Phife of the small town claims that he has to know if the main character, Tom, is in a witness protection program. If Tom tells you then Tom will die...or at least have to move again. Tom's wife, while being a lawyer, can't seem to control her emotions or bodily functions by crying at the drop of a hat and puking at important breakthroughs, sometimes doing both at the same time. Adding to the list of moronic moves, two mob guys make the stupidest moves in the history of stupid moves and I couldn't help but wonder how they had risen through the ranks of mobdom by being that stupid. It was a waste of a Netflix choice. I can't remember what I have coming next but anything's gotta be better than this crap. I feel confident in saying that because I know that I don't have The Scorpion King on my list and in all my years of movie watching, that's the only movie I haven't made it all the way through.
Iron Man is playing at the Riverview theater which has the best popcorn in any movie theater ever and has cheap seats. I may get to see a movie in a real-live movie theater after all this summer. It's also within walking distance. I'm so economical it's a wonder I've gotten myself into the poor house to begin with. Oh yeah, impulsive spending, that's what did it.
Work beckons...see ya.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
I'll Tell You What I'll Do After These Messages
I will say now that I am not running for Senate...but I have until 5:00pm to change my mind...just so you know...I'm not but I might. There, now that that's out of the way, on to other things.
After work I'll be going out to buy a copy of the New Yorker and also pick up one of those short lawn chairs. You know the kind, the ones that you use on the beach. One of those and maybe a little umbrella. I'm going to head down to St. Paul and pick a spot on the sidewalk facing the Xcel Center far enough away to not accidentally get arrested in the brouhaha but still able to take the whole panorama in. I'll also have fruity drinks. Non-alcoholic fruity drinks because mixing me with alcohol and a Republican National Convention is just asking for trouble. Don't worry, I'll wait until Sept. 1st before heading down there.
I've decided that The Cat needs to have his food intake monitored more closely. Me thinks he's taking advantage of the always-full food dish and this is starting to affect his physique. During the night, it is his usual routine to jump back and forth between my bedroom window and the living room window. His thumps as he hits the floor are getting louder and louder. They actually woke me up last night. Cats are supposed to be agile and quiet. I've also noticed an increase in the pressure applied by his paw as he walks across me. If it was just one paw, it might not be so bad but all cat owners are aware of the fact that when one paw hits you on the way across your body, a second back paw will hit in the exact same spot. It's uncanny how they can do that without looking.
Tonight, there is a neighborhood meeting about an MPHA low income/section 8 housing unit proposed for a site where an auto body shop blew up two weeks before I moved in. Since I haven't done anything neighborhoody yet, I should go. I must admit I'm a bit torn. On one hand, it's a great neighborhood and to be directly across from the park and directly on the bus route is a great place for a housing unit but I've always been told that those housing units drop the property values and sometimes raise the taxes, which doesn't make sense that the value would drop but the tax would rise....does that make sense? I have some research to do today.
After work I'll be going out to buy a copy of the New Yorker and also pick up one of those short lawn chairs. You know the kind, the ones that you use on the beach. One of those and maybe a little umbrella. I'm going to head down to St. Paul and pick a spot on the sidewalk facing the Xcel Center far enough away to not accidentally get arrested in the brouhaha but still able to take the whole panorama in. I'll also have fruity drinks. Non-alcoholic fruity drinks because mixing me with alcohol and a Republican National Convention is just asking for trouble. Don't worry, I'll wait until Sept. 1st before heading down there.
I've decided that The Cat needs to have his food intake monitored more closely. Me thinks he's taking advantage of the always-full food dish and this is starting to affect his physique. During the night, it is his usual routine to jump back and forth between my bedroom window and the living room window. His thumps as he hits the floor are getting louder and louder. They actually woke me up last night. Cats are supposed to be agile and quiet. I've also noticed an increase in the pressure applied by his paw as he walks across me. If it was just one paw, it might not be so bad but all cat owners are aware of the fact that when one paw hits you on the way across your body, a second back paw will hit in the exact same spot. It's uncanny how they can do that without looking.
Tonight, there is a neighborhood meeting about an MPHA low income/section 8 housing unit proposed for a site where an auto body shop blew up two weeks before I moved in. Since I haven't done anything neighborhoody yet, I should go. I must admit I'm a bit torn. On one hand, it's a great neighborhood and to be directly across from the park and directly on the bus route is a great place for a housing unit but I've always been told that those housing units drop the property values and sometimes raise the taxes, which doesn't make sense that the value would drop but the tax would rise....does that make sense? I have some research to do today.
Monday, July 14, 2008
We Gotta Get Out of This Place
I was determined to swim this weekend. I was determined not to let the city stop me from doing that but...Saturday...the city won. Did anyone try to drive anywhere Saturday? How many actually made it? Thanks to the triathlon, the 35W closure, and countless other construction projects on each and every roadway I chose to take, I wasted two hours going nowhere. I kid you not, I tried to get from S. Mpls. to Calhoun Square (wasn't a problem) to Richfield (was a MAJOR problem) then back to S. Mpls. via the River Road past the V.A. Hospital (stupid mistake) then back to Hiawatha Ave. to get to 94 West where I almost made it. I had my towel and suntan lotion with me, I could see the border, I could see it, but then as I accelerated past a woman discovering her car for the first time while attempting to drive it on the entrance ramp, my transmission did something very bad and I suddenly slipped out of gear. Luckily, I coasted to the Vandelia exit before I realized that I could switch into D3 and make it home okay. I was not meant to swim on Saturday.
I went home and pouted and also prepared a damn fine meal that some friends came over and ate. We discovered that strawberry marshmallows in a s'more are the bomb. I can't begin to tell you how good this was. I could say something like "it's the best thing I've ever put in my mouth" but it's Monday morning and I'm not willing to be silly and immature yet. Give me a few hours.
On Sunday, I learned the secret to getting good sleep again and how to introduce happiness back into your life...doing something that's fun. That's the big secret. I'm going to write a book. I'll make millions. I grabbed my bike, albeit after admitting defeat at the hands of the rollerblades when I became scared at not knowing how to stop, and headed down to Minnehaha Falls Park and on to Fort Snelling Park. My friends and I used to spend every summer day down there when we were sophomores in high school. It's a great beach and a great lake to swim in. Yes folks, I finally got to swim. Biking back was a bit of a chore since the wind was against me the entire way, but it kept the bugs off. Isn't that what you should always say about a windy day in the summer? At least it's keeping the bugs off?
I didn't make my 6:00am call to the improv marathon at BNW, I was all snuggly in my bed. Not a good excuse but I'm going with it anyways because I'm a big believer in the truth. I didn't get the latest info before I left work on Friday otherwise I would have headed down sooner Sunday evening to catch more acts. I thought the $5 bought you a two-hour block instead of the 3 1/2 hour block it actually bought you, so I just showed up at my usual 7:45 time. Nifty new stage. Fun watching performers discover nifty new stage.
I'm off to start my split schedule again for another week. I'm supposed to be working out of two locations this week and if I play my cards right, I could get each location to believe that I'm heading over to the other location and just cut out altogether. I bet I could concentrate a whole lot better if I were on the beach. I think it's a theory worth checking out.
I went home and pouted and also prepared a damn fine meal that some friends came over and ate. We discovered that strawberry marshmallows in a s'more are the bomb. I can't begin to tell you how good this was. I could say something like "it's the best thing I've ever put in my mouth" but it's Monday morning and I'm not willing to be silly and immature yet. Give me a few hours.
On Sunday, I learned the secret to getting good sleep again and how to introduce happiness back into your life...doing something that's fun. That's the big secret. I'm going to write a book. I'll make millions. I grabbed my bike, albeit after admitting defeat at the hands of the rollerblades when I became scared at not knowing how to stop, and headed down to Minnehaha Falls Park and on to Fort Snelling Park. My friends and I used to spend every summer day down there when we were sophomores in high school. It's a great beach and a great lake to swim in. Yes folks, I finally got to swim. Biking back was a bit of a chore since the wind was against me the entire way, but it kept the bugs off. Isn't that what you should always say about a windy day in the summer? At least it's keeping the bugs off?
I didn't make my 6:00am call to the improv marathon at BNW, I was all snuggly in my bed. Not a good excuse but I'm going with it anyways because I'm a big believer in the truth. I didn't get the latest info before I left work on Friday otherwise I would have headed down sooner Sunday evening to catch more acts. I thought the $5 bought you a two-hour block instead of the 3 1/2 hour block it actually bought you, so I just showed up at my usual 7:45 time. Nifty new stage. Fun watching performers discover nifty new stage.
I'm off to start my split schedule again for another week. I'm supposed to be working out of two locations this week and if I play my cards right, I could get each location to believe that I'm heading over to the other location and just cut out altogether. I bet I could concentrate a whole lot better if I were on the beach. I think it's a theory worth checking out.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Eastern Sleeping Promises Marathon
I love sleeping with thunderstorms. I'm confident that you know what I mean. Even with that last night though, I'm still having problems sleeping. That'll have to get fixed pronto.
Movie faith is restored a bit after watching Eastern Promises last night. If you've seen this, you may be thinking "Of course a woman would like seeing this movie" because of a particular fight scene in a bath house but I'd like to point out that while a naked man is usually a good thing, it doesn't get particularly exciting unless he's happy to see you. That being said, I did really enjoy the fight scene because I thought it was well executed for a semi-unarmed fight while the lead had to also concentrate on placing his hand in strategic places while facing the camera.
In the event that you have nothing to do between 10pm Saturday night all the way through until 10pm Sunday night, go down to the Brave New Workshop where I've suddenly learned that there will be an improv marathon held for Gilda's Club Twin Cities. Now you get to see improv and do something for society. I might just head down at 6am on Sunday because when will I ever get a chance to do that again?
There's four weekends left before the Renaissance starts so I've created my annual list of stuff I want done before winter. Once the faire is over in October, I'm too beat to want to get anything done on the weekends so now's the time. If I could figure out how to shake the leaves off of the trees and get them raked now that would be ideal but, alas, that's not to be.
Movie faith is restored a bit after watching Eastern Promises last night. If you've seen this, you may be thinking "Of course a woman would like seeing this movie" because of a particular fight scene in a bath house but I'd like to point out that while a naked man is usually a good thing, it doesn't get particularly exciting unless he's happy to see you. That being said, I did really enjoy the fight scene because I thought it was well executed for a semi-unarmed fight while the lead had to also concentrate on placing his hand in strategic places while facing the camera.
In the event that you have nothing to do between 10pm Saturday night all the way through until 10pm Sunday night, go down to the Brave New Workshop where I've suddenly learned that there will be an improv marathon held for Gilda's Club Twin Cities. Now you get to see improv and do something for society. I might just head down at 6am on Sunday because when will I ever get a chance to do that again?
There's four weekends left before the Renaissance starts so I've created my annual list of stuff I want done before winter. Once the faire is over in October, I'm too beat to want to get anything done on the weekends so now's the time. If I could figure out how to shake the leaves off of the trees and get them raked now that would be ideal but, alas, that's not to be.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
No Clever Title Today
I can save you from either wasting money on a bad rental or wasting a Netflix queue spot by choosing Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. That movie sucks. It was even more disappointing because Clint Eastwood directed it which gave me high hopes to begin with. They were quickly dashed. I'll try to redeem my faith in movies by watching Eastern Promises tonight. At the very least, there should be some good tattoo work in it. Aren't Russian prisons known for their tattoo work? Thought so.
With the upcoming RNC, I am planning my protest on protesting the use of taxpayer dollars on extra policing of protesters. I'm all for voicing your opinion but why do you have to do it in a way that requires a police officer to have to pay attention to what you're doing? If you want people to pay attention to you, get Madonna to use the powers of Kabbalah to lure you away your current situation and you'll be all over the media.
I haven't been swimming yet this summer. What the hell's wrong with me? I'll have to change that this weekend. Don't attempt to follow me though, I've gained weight over the last four weeks and I currently have a bad body image. If I see you looking at me, I'll scratch your eyes out.
With the upcoming RNC, I am planning my protest on protesting the use of taxpayer dollars on extra policing of protesters. I'm all for voicing your opinion but why do you have to do it in a way that requires a police officer to have to pay attention to what you're doing? If you want people to pay attention to you, get Madonna to use the powers of Kabbalah to lure you away your current situation and you'll be all over the media.
I haven't been swimming yet this summer. What the hell's wrong with me? I'll have to change that this weekend. Don't attempt to follow me though, I've gained weight over the last four weeks and I currently have a bad body image. If I see you looking at me, I'll scratch your eyes out.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Have Go Missing
My poor head. I miss my mind. Where ever it is, I wish it well. In it's absence, my body is taking over and it has absolutely no concept of control.
It got three hours of sleep last night with the third hour due to the oversleeping after the alarm went off. It's feet aren't getting any smoother after heavy use of the foot-skin-cheese grater and I don't know where that bruise on the inside of the elbow came from.
It only wants ice cream and has taken to moving it's mouth to form profanity when no one is within ear-shot which is a problem when it's in the car and there's a driver in front of it who mistakenly thinks it's talking to them which then causes a hullabaloo during traffic.
It's ears think it hears something at night whether the windows are open or closed which has led to loss of aforementioned sleep over the last several nights. Because of that, it now wants to go home and crash on the couch yet at the same time, it wants to move around because it's been locked behind a desk for far too long.
It can't decide what to wear in the morning because it can't decide if 83 degrees is hot or cold. It looks at the lunch it's prepared the night before in the fridge yet forgets to grab it before it leaves the house only seconds later.
If you see a mind sitting on a street corner somewhere causing trouble, please return it - it's body misses the good ole' days.
It got three hours of sleep last night with the third hour due to the oversleeping after the alarm went off. It's feet aren't getting any smoother after heavy use of the foot-skin-cheese grater and I don't know where that bruise on the inside of the elbow came from.
It only wants ice cream and has taken to moving it's mouth to form profanity when no one is within ear-shot which is a problem when it's in the car and there's a driver in front of it who mistakenly thinks it's talking to them which then causes a hullabaloo during traffic.
It's ears think it hears something at night whether the windows are open or closed which has led to loss of aforementioned sleep over the last several nights. Because of that, it now wants to go home and crash on the couch yet at the same time, it wants to move around because it's been locked behind a desk for far too long.
It can't decide what to wear in the morning because it can't decide if 83 degrees is hot or cold. It looks at the lunch it's prepared the night before in the fridge yet forgets to grab it before it leaves the house only seconds later.
If you see a mind sitting on a street corner somewhere causing trouble, please return it - it's body misses the good ole' days.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Back to the grind
So I had typed out this nice blog yesterday at home because I was so surprised that I could get a connection so quickly and I was foiled again...just as I was about to post BAM! gone, offline, no more internets. Tease.
Part of the blog was about how happy I was to report that The Cat captured and partially devoured his first mouse while living in my home. I was slightly woken up either late Thursday night or early Friday morning to the sounds of Louie running up and down the house. He does this occasionally when he suddenly gets a wild hair up his butt and plays with a toy, or when he's out of food and somehow thinks running around will get him more. This time it was a bit different. It seemed more intense but I didn't hear any squeaks of terror so I assumed he was either really playing or really hungry. I awoke Friday morning to find a mouse rump roast on my carpet. Apparently Louie doesn't like that cut. I was happy to see that he didn't try to bring it to me as a token of love or a token of showing off which some cats do. Now I can rest assured knowing that my little killer will get anything with a tail skinnier than his own.
Yesterday was a bit warm. As I was sitting outside with only one layer of clothing on, I tried to picture doing this with three layers of clothing on when fest rolls around. It wasn't a pleasant thought. As long as I have ice to stick down the bodice I'll be fine. Geez, I gotta finish that bodice.
Time to get back to work to have the life sucked out of me much like my earnings are being sucked from me. Ever feel like you're just not ever going to get ahead?
Part of the blog was about how happy I was to report that The Cat captured and partially devoured his first mouse while living in my home. I was slightly woken up either late Thursday night or early Friday morning to the sounds of Louie running up and down the house. He does this occasionally when he suddenly gets a wild hair up his butt and plays with a toy, or when he's out of food and somehow thinks running around will get him more. This time it was a bit different. It seemed more intense but I didn't hear any squeaks of terror so I assumed he was either really playing or really hungry. I awoke Friday morning to find a mouse rump roast on my carpet. Apparently Louie doesn't like that cut. I was happy to see that he didn't try to bring it to me as a token of love or a token of showing off which some cats do. Now I can rest assured knowing that my little killer will get anything with a tail skinnier than his own.
Yesterday was a bit warm. As I was sitting outside with only one layer of clothing on, I tried to picture doing this with three layers of clothing on when fest rolls around. It wasn't a pleasant thought. As long as I have ice to stick down the bodice I'll be fine. Geez, I gotta finish that bodice.
Time to get back to work to have the life sucked out of me much like my earnings are being sucked from me. Ever feel like you're just not ever going to get ahead?
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Holiday
In celebration of the upcoming holiday, I've just eaten ice cream for lunch. Another reason for breaking the traditional lunch menu rules is because I woke up in a bad mood. I hate waking up in a bad mood. Then again, if I liked it, it wouldn't be a bad mood.
I don't know how these things manage to sneak up on me so much, but I kind of forgot about this holiday. I've known that I had a four-day work week this week, but that's as far as my thinking went; that I'll have to squeeze everything into four days. I did venture a thought or two about how it'll be nice to not have anything to do, but now that the time is upon me, it's not so nice. I don't know what I'm going to do for three days.
I've spent so much time practicing, rehearsing, and going to an occasional show or two, that I've managed to lose touch with some friends. There was a group of us who all lived in St. Louis Park and hung out all the time. In the last six months, one couple has decided to get a divorce which has turned ugly, I got into an argument with another friend and haven't heard from her for awhile, and I don't really know what the hell happened to the other couple. We've always all gotten together over Memorial Day weekend and 4th of July. Especially the 4th because two of the couples lived right next to the park in St. Louis Park where they shoot off the fireworks.
I saw my neighbor putting the canoe on top of the car last night and it reminded me of when I was young and my family would always go camping. One year, my dad made a huge movie screen out of 4x4's and a white sheet. I don't remember the movies we watched because I fell asleep five minutes into the first one, but I think there were swords involved.
My mom dropped in last Sunday unannounced (my least favorite type of drop-in), so I've gotten the family visit out of the way. Cleaning the garage is still on the list of things to do and since the temps will be lower than 90, I'll be able to stand in my garage without fainting. That's something to look forward to.
Even if nothing earth-shattering happens over the weekend, it'll still be very nice to get away from the work environment. Things have gotten to the point where communication is breaking down, my co-workers and I don't get updates so we really don't know what's going on which makes it impossible to plan for the future and also makes us snip at each other. We're starting to argue over stupid procedural issues like what documentation goes with what and how long to save it and how to file and what signatures to get. It's really stupid stuff to argue over but it's not really the stuff, it's that we're defensive. We feel like others think we don't know how to do our jobs. I've lost faith in my superiors which really sucks because you need someone to look up to. I can also feel myself becoming more paranoid. I mistake a facial gesture or sentence to mean something it really doesn't.
A nice fire in the backyard where my lilies are blooming should help. My lilies are fucking beautiful. They're a shade of pinkish-lavender. If you're in the neighborhood, stop in. I have brats. I don't have buns though. Bring buns.
I don't know how these things manage to sneak up on me so much, but I kind of forgot about this holiday. I've known that I had a four-day work week this week, but that's as far as my thinking went; that I'll have to squeeze everything into four days. I did venture a thought or two about how it'll be nice to not have anything to do, but now that the time is upon me, it's not so nice. I don't know what I'm going to do for three days.
I've spent so much time practicing, rehearsing, and going to an occasional show or two, that I've managed to lose touch with some friends. There was a group of us who all lived in St. Louis Park and hung out all the time. In the last six months, one couple has decided to get a divorce which has turned ugly, I got into an argument with another friend and haven't heard from her for awhile, and I don't really know what the hell happened to the other couple. We've always all gotten together over Memorial Day weekend and 4th of July. Especially the 4th because two of the couples lived right next to the park in St. Louis Park where they shoot off the fireworks.
I saw my neighbor putting the canoe on top of the car last night and it reminded me of when I was young and my family would always go camping. One year, my dad made a huge movie screen out of 4x4's and a white sheet. I don't remember the movies we watched because I fell asleep five minutes into the first one, but I think there were swords involved.
My mom dropped in last Sunday unannounced (my least favorite type of drop-in), so I've gotten the family visit out of the way. Cleaning the garage is still on the list of things to do and since the temps will be lower than 90, I'll be able to stand in my garage without fainting. That's something to look forward to.
Even if nothing earth-shattering happens over the weekend, it'll still be very nice to get away from the work environment. Things have gotten to the point where communication is breaking down, my co-workers and I don't get updates so we really don't know what's going on which makes it impossible to plan for the future and also makes us snip at each other. We're starting to argue over stupid procedural issues like what documentation goes with what and how long to save it and how to file and what signatures to get. It's really stupid stuff to argue over but it's not really the stuff, it's that we're defensive. We feel like others think we don't know how to do our jobs. I've lost faith in my superiors which really sucks because you need someone to look up to. I can also feel myself becoming more paranoid. I mistake a facial gesture or sentence to mean something it really doesn't.
A nice fire in the backyard where my lilies are blooming should help. My lilies are fucking beautiful. They're a shade of pinkish-lavender. If you're in the neighborhood, stop in. I have brats. I don't have buns though. Bring buns.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Do Not Shake Before Drinking
It's only been five minutes that I've been at work and already I have two coffee stains on my shirt. I hate that when you get an iced mocha and try to swirl it around in the cup, that it sometimes leaks. In light of this catastrophe, I'm renaming today Slob Day so that I fit in.
I have all of my bills, explanation of benefits, and dental plan summary in hand and am ready to call Delta Dental to politely point out how they mistakenly didn't cover enough of my non-optional procedure. As hard as it is sometimes, you get waaaaaaay farther with billing people if you remain calm and nice than if you lose your temper. Adults don't like to be yelled at and as soon as the yelling starts, the listening stops. Sometimes I forget that.
I'm getting too used to short work weeks because it's only Wednesday and already I can hardly wait for the weekend to get here which, thanks to a holiday, is only 32.5 hours away. I don't have anything special planned and that's exactly why I'm excited. There are no expectations, I don't have to be anywhere at any time, I don't have to be prepared, I don't even have to take a shower if I don't want to although I will because I'm very sensitive to smelly people including myself. Actually, a good reason to take a shower is because I'm going to try the part-time job hunt again. Maybe now the lazy students that took all the good part time positions in the late spring/early summer will have quit so that there's room for me.
I think a mouse may have found it's way back into my house again last night because The Cat was on vigil near the furnace room door. I didn't see any carcasses or hear any squeaking but if he's there, I have faith that my little killer will get him.
On that upnote, I'll end for now.
I have all of my bills, explanation of benefits, and dental plan summary in hand and am ready to call Delta Dental to politely point out how they mistakenly didn't cover enough of my non-optional procedure. As hard as it is sometimes, you get waaaaaaay farther with billing people if you remain calm and nice than if you lose your temper. Adults don't like to be yelled at and as soon as the yelling starts, the listening stops. Sometimes I forget that.
I'm getting too used to short work weeks because it's only Wednesday and already I can hardly wait for the weekend to get here which, thanks to a holiday, is only 32.5 hours away. I don't have anything special planned and that's exactly why I'm excited. There are no expectations, I don't have to be anywhere at any time, I don't have to be prepared, I don't even have to take a shower if I don't want to although I will because I'm very sensitive to smelly people including myself. Actually, a good reason to take a shower is because I'm going to try the part-time job hunt again. Maybe now the lazy students that took all the good part time positions in the late spring/early summer will have quit so that there's room for me.
I think a mouse may have found it's way back into my house again last night because The Cat was on vigil near the furnace room door. I didn't see any carcasses or hear any squeaking but if he's there, I have faith that my little killer will get him.
On that upnote, I'll end for now.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Update
The U of M was hit with a terrorist attack today when a power line was cut and a nearby Xcel Energy transformer caught on fire causing a power outage throughout the West Bank Office Building and most of the other campuses; although, while the terrorist attack part is unfounded the rest of it is true.
The West Bank Office Building contains most of the centralized units like payroll, HR, IT, Disbursements, stuff like that. It's also where the little hub of the new financial system is located so the brand-spankin' new financial system is completely down for the rest of the day. Well, it was nice while it lasted. And my office is very clean complete with all paper clips detached from each other and bent the correct way.
Okay, see you later.
The West Bank Office Building contains most of the centralized units like payroll, HR, IT, Disbursements, stuff like that. It's also where the little hub of the new financial system is located so the brand-spankin' new financial system is completely down for the rest of the day. Well, it was nice while it lasted. And my office is very clean complete with all paper clips detached from each other and bent the correct way.
Okay, see you later.
Arrrrrgh
Money sucks. I have an escrow shortage that will now be applied to my mortgage because I don't have the lump sum available now and the taxes went up so the mortgage will be increased to begin with before the escrow increase is applied. Fuck. This far surpasses the cost-of-living raise I just got in June. Obviously the cost of living has increase more so I'd like that reflected in my paycheck. That won't be happening, will it?
My dentist is charging me an extra $119 that the insurance company didn't cover for my filling. That will be looked into further because when did fillings (the most popular dental procedure) start to not be covered?
And while I'm at it, why is it that when people are lying or in other ways deceitful, I'm the one who is supposed to be strong enough to call them out and/or go after them? Why can't they follow the rules to begin with? Why do the ethical ones have to become more ethical to make up for these assholes? Wow, what was in my cereal this morning?
Today is the big day for the new financial system at work and I haven't gone into it yet. I haven't heard any crying so I'm assuming that it's at least functional.
I'm going to go away now until I can figure out how to communicate in a pleasant manner. This may take awhile.
My dentist is charging me an extra $119 that the insurance company didn't cover for my filling. That will be looked into further because when did fillings (the most popular dental procedure) start to not be covered?
And while I'm at it, why is it that when people are lying or in other ways deceitful, I'm the one who is supposed to be strong enough to call them out and/or go after them? Why can't they follow the rules to begin with? Why do the ethical ones have to become more ethical to make up for these assholes? Wow, what was in my cereal this morning?
Today is the big day for the new financial system at work and I haven't gone into it yet. I haven't heard any crying so I'm assuming that it's at least functional.
I'm going to go away now until I can figure out how to communicate in a pleasant manner. This may take awhile.
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