I am sheeple, hear me baaaa
Yeah, yeah. Been there, done that, seen it a million times. But hey, it's that time of year.
1. What did you do in 2006 that you’d never done before?Got married. Went to Costa Rica. Broke the hell out of my wrist. Got robbed.
2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?I don't usually make resolutions. I make plans. And for the most part, I followed through on all of them. Next year's plans include learning to knit, lots of travel, and one Top Secret Plan.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?Our office clerk did; we're not especially close emotionally but we are physically so I think that counts.
4. Did anyone close to you die?JM's dad died. I didn't know him well but he was family.
5. What countries did you visit?Just the one...Costa Rica, the country everyone should visit at least once in their lifetime.
6. What would you like to have in 2007 that you lacked in 2006?Less chaos, more money.
7. What dates from 2006 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?April 8th- Got
MarriedJuly 7th- Got
RobbedOctober 26th- Got
Broken 8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?Not going completely raging insane.
9. What was your biggest failure?Well, I gained back every ounce I lost last year and then some, but I don't think of that as a failure so much as a fact.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?Mostly injury. I'm a total spaz and klutz so there was the sprained foot, an almost broken toe or two, frequent bruises and oh yeah, a "notoriously unstable" version of a distal radius fracture.
11. What was the best thing you bought?Hm. Most of the really good stuff I bought at the end of last year. Of course, I really love the vacuum cleaner we bought with our wedding money so I guess I'll go with that. Oh, and the
new earplugs I found this year...regular ones hurt my ears too much and these ones are way softer but still block out the sleep-preventing husband snores that keep me awake. The fact that they are pink is only a bonus.
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?The voters of America. The election results this year gave me hope for the first time in a long time.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?The American government's. Some of my in-laws. My own, on occasion.
14. Where did most of your money go?The wedding. And travel. And spoiling ourselves.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?Our wedding, duh. Oh, and my first post-Percoset poopening. Man, was that a relief. Percoset is awesome, except for the whole bowel-binding thing.
16. What song will always remind you of 2006?"Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley. Because this year was exactly that.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:a) happier or sadder? About the same, but more secure in my happiness.
b) thinner or fatter? Fatter (not that anyone would notice except me)
c) richer or poorer? Poorer if you look as our debt load, but richer if you look at our day to day life.
18. What do you wish you’d done more of?Traveling. Sleeping. Having sex.
19. What do you wish you’d done less of?Eating. Pouting. Having surgery.
20. How will you be spending Christmas?We spent it with the moms, as usual. It was quiet and involved nothing but eating, opening presents and watching football. In other words, it was perfect.
21. Did you fall in love in 2006?Over and over again.
22. How many one-night stands?None, duh.
23. What was your favorite TV program?Grey's Anatomy and Nip/Tuck
24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?I don't hate anyone, but there are a couple of coworkers who I really, really, really dislike this year that I liked okay last year.
25. What was the best book you read?The entire Dark Tower series. I am so very glad that I didn't pick that up to read until the series was complete.
26. What was your greatest musical discovery?Regina Spektor. Seriously, if you don't already listen to her, you should start.
27. What did you want and get?An iPod Shuffle, the new one. I love it more than I should, but it's so cute and tiny and awesome!
28. What did you want and not get?A puppy. I want a puppy so badly it hurts. In fact, I want a puppy the way oother women want a baby.
29. What was your favorite film of this year?Little Miss Sunshine, by far.
30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?I turned 31 and celebrated very quietly with Kevin, my friend Chrissy and her husband Kevin. We ate Mexican food and mint chocolate chip ice cream pie.
31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?A lot more money and a lot less physical pain.
32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2006?Comfortable and bland with a splash of occasional sexy.
33. What kept you sane?My cats. My friends. Coke Zero. But mostly my husband and family.
34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?I've developed an embarrissingly large crush on
Julian McMahon thanks to the hours and hours of old Charmed and Nip/Tuck episodes I've been watching since I broke my wrist.
35. What political issue stirred you the most?The entire Sudan situation. It pisses me off to no end that this shit has been allowed to go on for so long. I used to tutor Sudanese children who had escaped the war going on there; that was in 1998. It's only gotten worse since then and there is no relief in sight.
36. Who did you miss?My grandmother, especially close to the wedding. I wish with all my heart that she and my grandfather could have been there.
37. Who was the best new person you met?A coworker I call Stefanski. She's just a breath of fresh air for me at work, and the two of us hit it off within moments of meeting each other. I thank the universe for her on a pretty regular basis.
38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2006.Don't bother making plans, ever. Because the minute you do, something will come along and scatter all your plans like fallen leaves in front of a leaf blower.
39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. One girl, one boy Some grief, some joy Memories are made of this-
Memories Are Made Of This, Dean Martin
Whiny McPoutypants
It was raining this morning, a rarity in Southern California even in December. I wanted nothing more than to stay curled up in bed, but Kevin had already gotten up so it was pointless. Besides, we really did fulfill our laziness factor this weekend. Levels of sloth never before imagined were achieved. We literally did nothing but eat and sleep on Saturday. (And I wonder why none of my jeans fit right anymore.)
Physical therapy continues apace, and it pretty much sucks despite the fact that I have fantastic therapists and the office is actually modern and clean and kept up. But the niceness of the therapists does nothing to make my wrist hurt any less while I'm doing my stupid exercises. I've been pushing myself to show some good improvement every time I show up, since I will forever be a teacher's pet and love to hear them go on about how well I'm doing and how they can't believe I've already gotten my suppination up from 18 degrees to 60 degrees. We had a scar contest the last time we were there, to see who has the biggest surgery scar. I won, but only because the guy with the massive elbow reconstruction had already gone home.
I keep being reminded of how bad this break really was. On a different therapy day, a little old woman who had also broken her wrist was sitting next to me chit chatting as we did our respective exercises, and when she caught a glimpse of my scar, she kind of gasped and said "My dear, that's a huge scar! What did they have to do to you?" So I explained once again about how I broke off a big chunk of the end of my radius and they had to shove it back into place and hold it there with a plate full of pins and screws. Then my therapist mentioned that hey, I'd also had a hairline fracture in my ulna too (which was news to me...apparently they figured it would heal along with everything else so they never really mentioned it to me).
Really, I lucked out...this whole thing could have been a lot worse. My job was totally supportive of me while I was out, and my worker's comp and disability payments were enough to keep all of our bills paid so we never had to stress about money. My husband stepped up to take care of me incredibly well, and he did it by himself without help from anyone else. But damn, I'm sick of this whole mess. I'm tired of wearing this big clunky stupid brace, I'm tired of not being able to lift things or wash dishes or just live my life normally. The fact that I'll probably be dealing with this for another 2-3 months is not helping matters.
I guess my message here is to not be clumsy and to watch where you're stepping. I've proven (not once but twice now!) that your whole life can change for months at a time when you're just walking along thinking about your latest to do list. And it sucks, mightily.
Labels: broken wrist, clumsiness, holidailies
A new way to meme
I found this on one of the Holidailies blogs, and now I can't remember which one it was so I can't link a thank you.
Anyway, the idea is the same as those nifty American Express "My Life, My Card" ads....print it up, fill it out, then scan and post it. And good luck reading my handwriting!
(Also, if you want to join the fun, I've got the Word document...leave me a comment and I can email it to you)
Labels: meme
Merry Chrismahanukwanzayule!
We had a practically perfect holiday, and the cats have regained their spots under the tree now that the presents are all gone.
I hope you all got everything you wanted this holiday season, and that you always have everything you need.
Now, I need to go play with my new iPod Shuffle. Hooray!
Holidailies Recipe Swap: My Mom's Awesome Pumpkin Cookies
The injured wrist has greatly impeded my Christmas efforts this year. The only decorations that made it up are the tree, the fake mistletoe and the ceramic Christmas boot painted by my mother-in-law which is filled to overflowing with fake poinsettias. On top of that, there has been no baking done this year, much to the dismay (and relief, at least for the dieters) of my coworkers who usually reap the benefits of my holiday baking frenzies.
Every year I try to add some new cookies to my repertoire, but there's one cookie I always bake: my mom's pumpkin cookies. They're simple, the recipe makes a bunch of cookies, and man are they tasty. They're so very awesome that I'm sharing the recipe so that I can spread the joy. I'm hoping to make a batch tomorrow night, because it's just not Christmas without at least one batch in my oven.
Important Notes:- Choice of nuts is up to the baker; I prefer pecans, but they're good with walnuts as well. They should be somewhat finely chopped but not diced.
- If you want to cut calories, you can substitute 3/4 cup of Splenda Blend for Baking in place of the sugar. They turn out exactly the same.
- I've made these with just chocolate chips and with just nuts; either way is still awesome.
- These are a somewhat moist, sort of cake-like cookie. They don't spread much and don't brown much, so be careful of overbaking.
Ingredients:
1/2 c. unsalted butter
1 1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 egg
1 c. pumpkin (I use canned; be sure to get the plain pumpkin, NOT pie-flavored pumpkin)
1 t. vanilla (spring for the real stuff; it makes a difference)
2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 t. nutmeg
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 c. chopped nuts
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate pieces
Recipe:- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Using hand or stand mixer, cream butter & sugar together until light and fluffy.
- Add egg, pumpkin and vanilla to butter mixture; beat well.
- In separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon.
- Add dry ingredients to the creamed mixture and mix well.
- Add nuts and chocolate pieces, stir in with wooden spoon and mix well.
- Drop by teaspoon onto well-greased cookie sheets (I use Pam).
- Bake for 15 minutes; cool on racks.
Cookies can be stored for at least a week in an airtight container. The recipe makes 6 dozen if you stick to the teaspoon measurement but I usually end up with 4 dozen slightly larger ones. They're great for sharing but be sure to keep some for yourself!
Labels: holidailies, recipes
To The Husky Guy in The Red Suit
(Hooray for Holidailies writing prompts!)Dear Santa-
I don't think I've ever written to you before, at least not officially. I have no memories of carefully addressing an envelope to you and then sending it to the North Pole. I only ever talked to you in my head; I guess I figured you and God were brothers or something, so talking to you the same way I talked to him was as good a way to ask for presents as any.
Anyway, there's a few things I want to ask for this year, but they're pretty big and can't exactly be wrapped, so I won't be offended if I don't get any of it.
First, could you help make my father-in-law see that his behavior is affecting his relationship with his son? I don't care if he doesn't like me, but I do care that he can't be bothered to make an effort to stay in touch. He lives here in town and we still only hear from him once every couple of months or so. And his inability to see how hurtful his actions and words can be are only making Kevin want to keep his distance even more. I don't want or need to have any kind of a close relationship with the man, but I hate to see him throwing away the chance to be close to his son, because his son is a pretty damn good man.
Oh, and it would be really awesome if you could maybe do one of your Christmas miracles and drop a new job down the chimney for my friend Matt. He has done so much work this year, making himself a better husband and a better man, and I think he deserves a reward for that beyond his friends being proud of him. Plus, that would also be a gift for his wife Beth, and she's one of my closest friends so I'd love to see that happen for them so that they can get on with the rest of their life plans.
(By the way, thanks for the early present of the new reorg at work...all of my problem children are going to another division! The lowered stress levels are like...the best present EVER.)
And of course, the usual for the moms...better health, less procrastinating when they're injured, etc. I worry about them more than I probably should but it's only because they wait so damn long to give in and see the doctor. Maybe they need new doctors?
The cats don't need anything; they're fat and happy and have pretty much everything any cat needs, except for an unending supply of catnip. So I guess if you have some extra, you can leave that for them.
Speaking of catnip, there's a few people living north of us who could use some "human catnip" if you know what I mean (and I think you do...something tells me that your jollyness isn't entirely a personality quirk; and those elves have "puff puff pass" written all over them). Of course, I can't name names since I'm not here to get anyone in trouble, but you'll be able to find them, I'm sure. And only the good stuff, none of that harsh shit.
For my husband, I'm hoping you can give him just one perfect night of bowling. Just one 300 hundred game along with a couple of 260's on the same night would be the most perfect gift ever, but I'm not able to give it to him on my own. Oh, and make sure he gets them on a night when I'm there to see it happen.
As for me, there's a few things I really, really want right now. A new car. A mini longhair Dachshund puppy. A new wardrobe. But mostly I want more time. Time to visit with friends that I don't get to see enough. Time to spend snuggled on the couch reading a good book or watching a movie with Kevin. Time to go to the zoo and marvel at the polar bears and elephants and pandas again and again. Time to learn how to knit and start writing again and go walking with friends. Time to try new recipes and go on dates with my husband and finish everything on my desk by close of business each Friday. Time. That's most special gift I want this year.
(But if you can't swing that, I'll totally settle for the new car. Or an iPod. Whatever.)
Mostly nice but often naughty,
Melinda
Shortcut!
Since I've been swamped this week and am running late for work, where I have to help organize the annual holiday potluck/gift exchange, you get a meme.
Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? I only like my eggnog cold, so hot chocolate.
Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? All presents go under the tree. Abbie likes to use them to rest her head on when she sleeps under the tree.
Colored lights on tree/house or white? White. It's easier to decoratearound just white.
Do you hang mistletoe? Not real mistletoe; I have cats who like to chew on things so instead I have a cheesy plastic ball o' mistletoe.
When do you put your decorations up? First weekend in december.
What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Pink salad, of course.
Favorite Holiday memory as a child: Trips to Disneyland on the holidays were awesome.
When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? My aunt blew it for me when I was in 2nd or 3rd grade by asking Jackie where she got one of Santa's presents to my mom.
Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Sometimes. Usually just cards.
How do you decorate your Christmas tree? With a lot of random ornaments that I've collected over the years.
Snow? Nope.
Can you ice skate? Yes, but not this year.
Do you remember your favorite gift? The saddle my mom gave me back when I was riding horses competitively.
What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Family, friends, and lots of fun.
What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Pecan pie.
What is your favorite holiday tradition? Date night on Christmas Eve with Kevin.
What tops your tree? A tiny plastic angel
Which do you prefer: Giving or Receiving? Giving.
What is your favorite Christmas Song? Santa Baby, sung by Earth Kitt
Candy Canes ...are best when used to stir hot chocolate.
Labels: holidailies
Yes, you should
I have accomplished the nearly impossible.
I have finished and mailed all 130 of the Christmas cards I sent this year. (And envelope glue still tastes really nasty.)
Among those cards were a few that held the distinction of being
Should I cards. You know the ones I'm talking about. They're the ones that you send to people who you haven't talked to in ages, the ones you send to people who you've maybe had an argument with or who have done something that hurt your feelings. You'll be flipping through your address book and you'll see the name of one of those people and you'll wonder "Should I send them a card? Will they read it or just throw it away? Do I want to get back in touch with them or should I just let things be?"
Those
Should I cards are a tricky thing. Sometimes it's a family member who's been out of touch, but you feel like you should send one even though you don't particularly like the person because if you don't one of your parents will have something to say about it. Or maybe it's someone who you're not sure you're still friends with, since they haven't been returning your calls and maybe things were a little strained the last time you talked because you don't have as much in common anymore. So you hand pauses over the envelopes you're addressing as you wonder.
"Should I?"
I had a few of those this year. Family members who hurt us with their passive aggressive misbehaviors. A friend who RSVP'd for the wedding but then never showed up, a friend I haven't heard from in any way shape or form since then but who's got a habit of dropping contact when she is embarrassed about her own behavior. Another friend who I had an angry, bitter, hurtful falling out with a few months ago but who still floats through my mind from time to time because there were more good memories than bad before that falling out.
And when I asked myself "Should I?", I answered yes, to all of them. They may be thrown away without being opened, but I feel better for having made the effort. It's a simple thing, the sending of a card during the holidays. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that life is too short. If people matter to you even a little bit, the answer should always be yes, you should. And that's why I hope my
Should I cards don't get tossed into the trash with the junkmail.
Who knows, you may start rebuilding a burned bridge for nothing more than the cost of a stamp.
Labels: holidailies, life
6:15am is very early
I went back to work today.
I went back to work today and my boss and I fell back into the easy rhythm of talking over each other and plotting our takeover of the entire world and I realized that as much of a pain as he can be, I'm really glad that he came back because he and I, we understand each other.
I went back to work today and all of the totally stupid nervousness that I had about people being used to me being gone and other people having covered my desk so well that they wouldn't want me back disappeared as soon as the first person showed up in my office asking for help with something as though I'd never been gone.
I went back to work today and I already have a ton of things to deal with and get resolved, definitely 8 hours a day worth even though I'm only allowed to work 4 hours a day right now, but the 7 weeks away finally, FINALLY got me back to loving my job rather than dreading it, so that's okay.
I went back to work today and I wish I could survive forever on a part time salary because damn if it doesn't rock to have my entire afternoon free to run errands and watch DVDs.
I went back to work today and everything is....exactly the same and totally different. And that's really okay with me.
So many shoulds
I should be doing a lot of things right now.
I should be balancing the checkbook and paying bills so that I can finish the Christmas shopping this week. And I should also be going through this gigantic pile of bills and other mail that needs to be sorted and filed so that I can get control of the desk sooner rather than later.
I should also be working on my stacks of Christmas cards that still need to go out(I signed up for my usual two exhange lists again, putting the total to get out somewhere around 120). I'll probably have a few left after it's all said and done since I always over order, so let me knowif you want one; all I need is an address!
I should maybe be checking out my closet to figure out what I'm going to wear to work tomorrow. I'll only be working 4 hours a day for the next month, but hey, I've still got an iamge to maintain.
I should be doing an awful lot of things, but really, I probably won't do much of any of it, because there's a chill in the air, an empty apartment, two cats waiting to cuddle up on the couch with me while I watch episode after episode of Nip/Tuck on DVD and a couple of overly frosted cupcakes waiting for me courtesy of my friend.
Hmm. Maybe I should get started on that last bit right now.
Labels: holidailies, life
All Breakdowned Out
There are times when my only answer to a situation is to get hysterical. This afternoon was one of those. I think I scared the worker's comp guy this afternoon, what with my screeching and wailing and borderline hollering about how utterly absurd and frustrating their approval process for a freaking orthotic splint is.
Fucking beauracracy. They have to have a separate middle man company shop around for the best price, even though in the end they will most likely go ahead and have my occupational therapists do it since they are in the damn worker's comp medical network. And for some reason, this process takes 3-4 days. In the meantime, I'm in a temporary splint that is not A) the most comfortable thing or B) most easy thing to work around. And I'm going back to work on Monday.
And don't even get me started on the whole going back to work thing. I feel like the new kid in school since my visit there yesterday revealed that a coworker/subordinate has been talking shit about me to cover for her own shortcomings. There are many, many things I could say here but I'm trying hard to let it go. My boss still loves me, the other senior admin seemed happy to hear I was coming back, and all will be right with the world as soon as I get back to my office. Doesn't mean I'm not still totally pissed off about the whole thing.
So tonight, it's comfort food and booze and spending money online. It's better than crying anymore, because I'm all breakdowned out.
Labels: crazy making, holidailies, wrist
Because yes, I'm a wimp
It's no secret to the people who know us that Kevin and I are planning on moving out of California sometime within the next 5-7 years. Neither of us has lived outside of the state since we were born, and I've never lived farther north than Los Angeles. We want to live somewhere with actual seasons at some point in our lives.
Right now the two top contenders on our
Places To Move list are Wisconsin (probably Madison) and Georgia (probably outside Atlanta somewhere). We've been to Wisconsin and we like Wisconsin. We have friends in Wisconsin and we'd still be close enough to Chicago for me to get my big city fix but with enough space to satisfy my husband's craving for less people. On the other hand, we have family in Georgia; my Most Awesome Aunt & Uncle are there, along with their kids and grandkids. Our company has tons of offices in the state, so it'd be easy to transfer. We've been there, and Kevin has declared Georgia acceptable.
Lately, it's been a pretty neck and neck race between the two states. Compared to California, it's worlds cheaper to live in either of them, we're familiar with both of them and we know people in both of them.
But then today I saw this:
Temps rise in storm-stricken Midwest...and I have to say, I think Georgia just eeked a little bit forward in the polls.
(But don't tell my husband, because I think he's already dreaming of white Christmases.)
Labels: holidailies, life, moving
Sunday Best
A Pagan and an atheist walk into a church....
Sounds like the start of a really bad joke, doesn't it? I bet you'd never guess that I was describing the way Kevin and I started of our Sunday. But we were indeed at church on Sunday morning, and it wasn't even because of a wedding or a funeral or any other family/friend mandated visit. We were just there to go to church.
Before any of you start thinking that the world is ending or anything, I should probably mention that the church we went to is the
First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Diego. It's not really your typical church. The gathering bell is a Tibeten bowl gong, they regularly throw Solstice, Equinox and Sabbat rituals, and their emphasis seems to be on helping people to live a good life while believing whatever they want to believe.
The church thing is a me thing though, not a Kevin thing. He came with me on Sunday just to check it out before attending the Winter Solstice celebration in a couple weeks. Beth is a member there, and since she's got the same mindset as I do about most things spiritual I figured I would check it out. I've been feeling a bit at a loss lately, spritually at least. Don't get me wrong, I'm still into pentacles and cauldrons, but the tradition that my high priestess is teaching us veers away from nature based into the ecstatic realm and for me, my sense of the Divine has always been tied to nature, to the way the Earth moves through the seasons, the rhythm of life as it relates to the trees and ocean and animals. So it's time to do some exploring, and somehow that led me back to church. And it's the right place for me right now; I know that much because every time the affirmation is spoken, tears (of joy? of relief? I do not know) come to my eyes.
The other part of my sudden churchgoing ways is the fact that First Church is a hotbed of liberal activism. They participate in Earth Day celebrations, they march in the Gay Pride parade, they organize peace marches. Lately I feel like I should be doing more than just raging against the Bush presidency and shaking my fist angrily at the injustice in the world. I should be out there doing something, but I have no idea where to start. Something tells me that First Church will be able to help me direct that energy in the right direction. At the very least, they will help me figure out where I go from here.
And in the meantime, how can a place that's guided by the following be a bad place to be?
May love be the spirit of this church,
May the quest for truth be its sacrament,
And service be its prayer.
To dwell together in peace,
To seek knowledge in freedom,
And to help one another in fellowship.
This is our aspiration.
So for the time being, if you're looking for me on Sundays at noon, I'll be in church. Me and the rest of the Pagan/agnostic/Buddhist/Christian/atheist/etc worshippers of First Church.
Doctor, doctor, gimme the news
Yesterday I had a doctor's appointment, but for once it wasn't for my wrist. This time I was there to meet my new Everything Doctor, and luckily for me, she's fantastic. It's really amazing to me to have good doctors who actually listen to me when I talk and don't just blame every little thing on my weight. I mean seriously, my coughs do not happen because I'm fat, despite what my old doctor seemed to believe.
Of course, we did talk about my weight (and my sexual history because it was also Time For A Girly Parts Exam). I can't deny that my weight's an issue for me, and since I've managed to gain back everything I lost (and then some) it's time to take some more drastic actions. She was totally behind it (weight management is one of her areas of expertise) and gave me a referral to my healthcare group's weight management people. So before I left, she says that hey, let's go ahead and do an EKG and a whole bunch of blood work because the weight management group is going to want that info.
You'll be happy to know that the EKG showed that my heart beats with a totally normal rhythm and rate. What I was not happy to find out was that she requested to much bloodwork that they had to take SIX vials of blood from me. SIX! Man, I might as well have given blood while I was at it.
The worst part was that she also requested a urinalysis. There is nothing I hate more than peeing in a cup. There is no way in hell for me to pee into a 2 inch wide cup without peeing all over myself in the process. I don't usually wish I was a man because I happen to really like being a woman, but when they want me to pee in a cup all I can do is think "Man, this would be easier if I had a penis."
This experience was even worse than usual, since not only was the cup a teeny tiny one, the bathroom was totally awkward. It had obviously been retrofitted to meet federal ADA guidelines, and it was obvious that they had done the very least necessary. The toliet was crammed into the corner, with the handicapped railing sticking out sort of over the toilet seat. So I crammed myself in and realized that I didn't have room to manuever the cup down into position for the attempt at pee catching. I had to sit sort of sideways on the seat, and sure enough, peed all over my hand.
Have you ever tried to thoroughly wash your hands with a cast on one of them? Nearly impossible, but I somehow managed it because ew, pee covered hand! Ew! So I got that all cleaned up and opened the little cabinet where they have you leave your cup only to discover that it was already pretty full. Apparently, whichever tech was supposed to be collecting the pee cups that day was totally slacking, because they were actually stacked on top of each other. And it's not like it was locked or anything. If someone needed some pee to use to pass a drug test, it would have been really easy for someone to just come on by and steal some.
As icked out as I was, I have to admit that I was kind of proud that my cup was pretty much full, unlike the vast majority of the cups in there. Slackers.
So here's hoping that all the blood work comes back normal, eh? I'd hate to find out I was dying right before Christmas.
Labels: holidailies, life
And she's back
And just like that, it's December all over again, and you know what that means...
Holidailies! Good thing I always have plenty to say.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *Do you know what
parkour is? I didn't either, until Kevin explained it to me last Saturday night. I cannot hear that word without laughing out loud anymore, because not half an hour after he explained it to me, I had convinced my slightly inebriated (or in her words, totally lit) mother-in-law to not only say but shout "I'm gonna parkour this bitch!" while walking the streets of downtown Sacramento. And that was not even the most awesome part of Thanksgiving.
The most awesome part was when my mother-in-law decided to yell at a pony ride lady, and the pony ride lady almost popped her one. I'm beginning to think that she's going to end up as one of those cranky old ladies who's always getting yelled at by the police because she's been harrassing the neighbors too much. But that's okay, because I happen to adore my mother-in-law and that's more than a lot of people can say.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *In other news, I regained use of the fingers on my left hand last week when I got my new (and last!) cast. Still no thumb use but at least now I can type, which is really good news considering that I need to do a bunch of homework for my class at work before the 6th.
Next week I get to shift to a removable plastic splint and start physical therapy. Looks like I might actually get back into the office part time on the 11th, which I have mixed feelings on. I'm finally able to enjoy my time off since I've got the shorter cast on but I need some stimulation other than reruns of Law & Order, so in the end it'll be good to be back at work.
Besides, I've got tons of clothes that I haven't been able to wear for a month and a half. I miss dressing like a grownup.
