I had a random thought driving in to work this morning. That thought led into another one, and they were both about McDonald's.
Does anyone know if you can still trick or treat at McDonald's? As I recall, unless I'm completely making this up, I used to stop by McDonald's on Halloween night. If you did that, you would get a bag of cookies. My favorite have always been the McDonaldland cookies, and let me tell ya, this was always one of the best treats I got on Halloween. (By the way, if you order a Happy Meal for your self [which I sometimes do, it's the perfect amount of food where you don't feel blah] you can usually ask to exchange the toy for a bag of cookies.)
So then that thought led to the next: I wonder if you can still take your report card to McDonald's and get free burgers? Does anyone know if you can? It was kind of an un-advertised thing, but you could take it there and get free hamburgers for every A you had. Limit of 6. The person who waited on you would initial your report card so you couldn't cheat and bring it back, and it was great! We usually got our burgers and then went over to my grandparents' house where we would share them with them. And I would usually find a piece of cheese in their fridge to add on. For a short period of time, Taco Bell jumped in on this too and gave you free tacos, but I think that was limited to only 3 or 4.
Ah those were the days. As much as everyone wants to dis McDonald's for their unhealthy food, I think most everyone has fond memories of being a kid and going to a place like that and getting fast food. A friend of mine (she's in her 70s) has told a story where Friday was McDonald's night, and they would pile their 10 kids in the station wagon and treat the kids. My mom still occasionally will talk about going to the A&W that used to be in town, and getting the little 10-cent root beers. I remember, in my hometown location, how the play area used to be in the back of the store. And friends had birthday parties there, and there was only one slide. That slide is still there to this day, though it got moved to a larger play area. Back in the day when fast food and easy-frozen cooking wasn't rampant, it was a real treat to go there. Heck, I still think it's a treat for myself to this day. On my last day of college, the day I moved out, I had everything packed up and ready to go and I decided to REALLY treat myself and get breakfast at McD's.
I think these reasons are why it really bums me out when I hear about legislation to ban Happy Meal toys because it's supposedly promoting 'unhealthy eating.' Yeah right. Let kids be kids. A toy is a toy, and McDonald's food is perfectly fine in moderation, as it's supposed to be. No one is 'supposed' to eat there as often as some do, so don't punish a bunch of kids because of your lack of a desire to make a home-cooked meal.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Monday, September 12, 2011
Home sick
I am at home sick today. I'm not exactly sure what is going on. It started yesterday. When I went to bed around 1am, I didn't fall asleep but started coughing. Well, that continued all night long. I don't know how many times I woke up, but it was more than I was sleeping. And it went on after I got up too. So, I was pretty much coughing almost nonstop for over 12 hours. I finally calmed down enough to take a nap at 3:30 p.m. yesterday. As the night went on, though, I felt worse and worse in other ways. My head started to stuff up, my throat hurt, my nose was draining, and my eyes were watery. Not to mention my lungs felt like someone had rubbed them raw with sandpaper, they were so sore and inflamed from all the coughing.
Jarrod was awesome and ran to Walmart last night at 9:30 to get me some cold medicine, soup, Puffs Soft & Strong tissues, and some crackers. :) I didn't sleep much better last night, and didn't feel much better this morning so I am home for today. I hope to take a nap after the Price Is Right.
We have construction going on outside on the road to our house, so I get to listen to that all day. Oh goody. But I've got a crock pot of vegetable soup going, so I'm hoping that tastes good tonight. Hopefully my nose will be a little less clogged by then.
Jarrod was awesome and ran to Walmart last night at 9:30 to get me some cold medicine, soup, Puffs Soft & Strong tissues, and some crackers. :) I didn't sleep much better last night, and didn't feel much better this morning so I am home for today. I hope to take a nap after the Price Is Right.
We have construction going on outside on the road to our house, so I get to listen to that all day. Oh goody. But I've got a crock pot of vegetable soup going, so I'm hoping that tastes good tonight. Hopefully my nose will be a little less clogged by then.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
What a day
Like everyone else today, I'm blogging about 9/11. Ten years ago when I heard the news I was a freshman at Borgia in Theology class. A kid named Tony showed up late for school (he was notorious for that) and mentioned that the WTC had been hit. I honestly had never heard of the World Trade Centers, so I didn't quit know exactly which building he meant. Since I didn't know, I thought it has something to do with Wall Street and was wondering what would happen to the stock markets if all
of those people died. My next class was my world history class with Tyree. I believe we had a quiz or some homework to hand in, but after we took care of that he told us "Well, I've decided that we are just
going to go to the cafeteria and watch the television. This is history and nothing I could teach you today is as important as what is going on right now." At some point, Rev Kev got on the PA system and
announced what was going on and said a prayer. I remember thinking to myself 'Wow, he is really good at coming up with prayers on the spot.' For some reason, hardly any (if any) TVs worked at that time in the classrooms, so we went to the cafeteria where another class was already. We watched the paranoia unfold and watched the towers fall. I remember that well because I remember the TV reporter cursing on air, and since everything was so frantic that day it didn't get bleeped; I doubt anyone cared that day.
I admit that at the time I didn't, and couldn't, fully comprehend the scale of this or how large its significance. And also, to be completely honest, I don't know that it phased me too much, but most
things don't anyways it's just how I am. I didn't fully understand or have some sort of emotional connection until about 3 years ago when I watched a video on YouTube. This particular one, though I couldn't find it back the other day, was shot from someone's apartment. There were two women in the background and, I presume, a child because they had a kids program on the TV. The kids songs playing in the background from the TV added a really strange feeling to everything, as you would guess. I just remember this lady's reaction when the second plane hit, and then I actually started to cry. She wasn't overly dramatic or anything, it was just pure, utter disbelief. But what really hit me was when she started to notice people jumping from the buildings and she said "Oh my God. There... there are people... and they're jumping?" Anyways, after watching that I thought to myself "Ok, I get it now." Watching a completely stripped down, bare bones version of the events unfold without any commentary or crazy newscasters really had an impact on me. I also remember when the towers fell and from her apartment, she had an interesting view. Since she was higher up, you could just see everything billowing between the buildings and I will never forget the way it looked. It looked like the hounds of hell coming to get you, with hands of clouds of smoke and dust just grabbing away; it was so, so strange looking.
The other night I sought out this video again, but never found it. I did, however, find someone's seven-part video montage of the events, and I watched those. The person did a good job with the various
footage they had. Again, it was so interesting and just moving to watch it. The most striking was the fifth one, I believe, in which the first tower fell. Hearing the screams and panic was just... unbelievable. So if you are curious and want to see more of a first-person account of the attacks, then I would recommend with caution. It's not easy to watch, but it's definitely moving.
of those people died. My next class was my world history class with Tyree. I believe we had a quiz or some homework to hand in, but after we took care of that he told us "Well, I've decided that we are just
going to go to the cafeteria and watch the television. This is history and nothing I could teach you today is as important as what is going on right now." At some point, Rev Kev got on the PA system and
announced what was going on and said a prayer. I remember thinking to myself 'Wow, he is really good at coming up with prayers on the spot.' For some reason, hardly any (if any) TVs worked at that time in the classrooms, so we went to the cafeteria where another class was already. We watched the paranoia unfold and watched the towers fall. I remember that well because I remember the TV reporter cursing on air, and since everything was so frantic that day it didn't get bleeped; I doubt anyone cared that day.
I admit that at the time I didn't, and couldn't, fully comprehend the scale of this or how large its significance. And also, to be completely honest, I don't know that it phased me too much, but most
things don't anyways it's just how I am. I didn't fully understand or have some sort of emotional connection until about 3 years ago when I watched a video on YouTube. This particular one, though I couldn't find it back the other day, was shot from someone's apartment. There were two women in the background and, I presume, a child because they had a kids program on the TV. The kids songs playing in the background from the TV added a really strange feeling to everything, as you would guess. I just remember this lady's reaction when the second plane hit, and then I actually started to cry. She wasn't overly dramatic or anything, it was just pure, utter disbelief. But what really hit me was when she started to notice people jumping from the buildings and she said "Oh my God. There... there are people... and they're jumping?" Anyways, after watching that I thought to myself "Ok, I get it now." Watching a completely stripped down, bare bones version of the events unfold without any commentary or crazy newscasters really had an impact on me. I also remember when the towers fell and from her apartment, she had an interesting view. Since she was higher up, you could just see everything billowing between the buildings and I will never forget the way it looked. It looked like the hounds of hell coming to get you, with hands of clouds of smoke and dust just grabbing away; it was so, so strange looking.
The other night I sought out this video again, but never found it. I did, however, find someone's seven-part video montage of the events, and I watched those. The person did a good job with the various
footage they had. Again, it was so interesting and just moving to watch it. The most striking was the fifth one, I believe, in which the first tower fell. Hearing the screams and panic was just... unbelievable. So if you are curious and want to see more of a first-person account of the attacks, then I would recommend with caution. It's not easy to watch, but it's definitely moving.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Going from mega-fan to ticked off user
(I'm up coughing... so what do I do? Blog! Haha.)
Apple is bothering me these days. What was once a wonderful producer of a wonderful alternative to a Windows computer has become a cocky industry leader forcing its users to go places they don't want to.
Personally, I do not necessarily agree with the path that Apple is planning to take me down.
I read a great editorial on Engadget saying how Apple is done with the optical drive. Yes, it was an opinion piece, but his argument was laid out well and it all just made sense. The evidence here is in two recent releases from Apple, they have gotten rid of the CD drives in their machines. With the laptops, you now have options of a MacBook Air, which I personally find pointless, or the MacBook Pro, which is overkill for most people. The Air has no CD drive, and never has, so no surprise there. But the thing is that they dropped their lesser laptop so you now only have those two options. Previously, you had the option of the MacBook. Now that no longer exists. But the one that confuses me most is the new Mac Mini's do not have CD drives. How do you get any programs on your computer you ask? Well, in Apple's world, you would buy them from the shiny App Store and simply download them. Or, you could download them somewhere else, put them on a flash drive, and get them on your machine that way, or you could buy a separate CD drive to hook up to your Mini externally. And what if someone wanted to burn a CD or a DVD? I still like to make CD mixes for my car, or iMovie projects. I guess they assume I'll just use my iPod and that I hate home movies and will watch them... on my Mac. Pretty ridiculous, isn't it? So there's that.
I am also very bothered by this because this can only mean one thing in the long-term: to the cloud. By slowly removing our abilities to use computers like we always have, they are channeling us and preparing us for these new methods. Apple made a huge push with iCloud when it talked about it at WWDC. In theory, it sounds great. [Send your files somewhere in North Carolina and have them automatically push back to ALL of your devices... what could possibly go wrong? Oh, and don't worry, no one's going to pay attention to the files you send us, either. Yeah, right.] But I am just not a cloud person; I don't like the idea, I don't want to partake in it, and dammit I don't want Apple to force me into it.
But mostly I'm upset over Lion, their new operating system. At first, Lion sounded awesome, I admit. It is very 'flashy' in its capabilities. But now, I don't really want anything to do with it.
For one, I feel that Lion is directed at laptops and laptops only. With so many functions that rely on multi-touch, (translation: using a touchpad) they would not work much for me. Plus, I don't know that I really care; I'm not sure that it matters to me if I can swipe a program off and on my screen.
But my biggest gripe, and it's a really big one, is the hoops they make you jump through to upgrade to it. My dad has a laptop, I can't remember how old, but it was some of the best specs at the time as far as what Apple offered in MacBook Pros, and he can't upgrade to Lion because his hardware is not good enough. You need so much RAM to run the darn program, and he physically can't upgrade. So he's just stuck with Snow Leopard until the machine dies.
Me, on the other hand, I have the RAM, but I don't have Snow Leopard. In poking around Apple's store, I just found this lovely little piece of information:
The fact that they made their new OS solely dependent with the most recent OS is f'ing outrageous. And the second fact that they expect me to buy Snow Leopard for $29.99 and then buy Lion for another $29.99 is an f'ing joke. This is pretty much the nail in the coffin for me NOT buying Lion. I don't want it now. I think I'll upgrade to Snow Leopard, because there are a few things I'd like to do with that, but then I'm done on this computer. I also found out by chance in a CF blog I was reading that Lion is not compatible with 2004 Microsoft Office. Awesome. And to fix THAT problem, the latest version of Office is $150.
Total cost to make Jamie's computer run Lion and act like it always has: $210.
No thank you.
Jarrod is getting pretty pissed off at Apple, possibly more than I am, for many of the same reasons. He is really into learning Linux more and maybe we'll become a Linux household, who knows. The thing is, though, that my career depends on Apple computers, so I will always be using one whether I like it or not; the Adobe Suite simply does not work nearly as good on a PC as it does on a Mac.
I have a feeling we're not alone in our unsettled issues with the giant Apple, either. Even in Popular Mechanics' piece comparing tablets, in the "Who Is It For" description, under the iPad they said 'Anyone who doesn't hold a grudge against Apple' and for the Samsung Galaxy it said 'Anyone who wants to break free from Apple's walled garden.' It made me laugh, but it also verified how I'm feeling. So I'll wait and see where Apple tries to push me next, but I'm no longer just a blind sheep following along.
Apple is bothering me these days. What was once a wonderful producer of a wonderful alternative to a Windows computer has become a cocky industry leader forcing its users to go places they don't want to.
Personally, I do not necessarily agree with the path that Apple is planning to take me down.
I read a great editorial on Engadget saying how Apple is done with the optical drive. Yes, it was an opinion piece, but his argument was laid out well and it all just made sense. The evidence here is in two recent releases from Apple, they have gotten rid of the CD drives in their machines. With the laptops, you now have options of a MacBook Air, which I personally find pointless, or the MacBook Pro, which is overkill for most people. The Air has no CD drive, and never has, so no surprise there. But the thing is that they dropped their lesser laptop so you now only have those two options. Previously, you had the option of the MacBook. Now that no longer exists. But the one that confuses me most is the new Mac Mini's do not have CD drives. How do you get any programs on your computer you ask? Well, in Apple's world, you would buy them from the shiny App Store and simply download them. Or, you could download them somewhere else, put them on a flash drive, and get them on your machine that way, or you could buy a separate CD drive to hook up to your Mini externally. And what if someone wanted to burn a CD or a DVD? I still like to make CD mixes for my car, or iMovie projects. I guess they assume I'll just use my iPod and that I hate home movies and will watch them... on my Mac. Pretty ridiculous, isn't it? So there's that.
I am also very bothered by this because this can only mean one thing in the long-term: to the cloud. By slowly removing our abilities to use computers like we always have, they are channeling us and preparing us for these new methods. Apple made a huge push with iCloud when it talked about it at WWDC. In theory, it sounds great. [Send your files somewhere in North Carolina and have them automatically push back to ALL of your devices... what could possibly go wrong? Oh, and don't worry, no one's going to pay attention to the files you send us, either. Yeah, right.] But I am just not a cloud person; I don't like the idea, I don't want to partake in it, and dammit I don't want Apple to force me into it.
But mostly I'm upset over Lion, their new operating system. At first, Lion sounded awesome, I admit. It is very 'flashy' in its capabilities. But now, I don't really want anything to do with it.
For one, I feel that Lion is directed at laptops and laptops only. With so many functions that rely on multi-touch, (translation: using a touchpad) they would not work much for me. Plus, I don't know that I really care; I'm not sure that it matters to me if I can swipe a program off and on my screen.
But my biggest gripe, and it's a really big one, is the hoops they make you jump through to upgrade to it. My dad has a laptop, I can't remember how old, but it was some of the best specs at the time as far as what Apple offered in MacBook Pros, and he can't upgrade to Lion because his hardware is not good enough. You need so much RAM to run the darn program, and he physically can't upgrade. So he's just stuck with Snow Leopard until the machine dies.
Me, on the other hand, I have the RAM, but I don't have Snow Leopard. In poking around Apple's store, I just found this lovely little piece of information:
Total cost to make Jamie's computer run Lion and act like it always has: $210.
No thank you.
Jarrod is getting pretty pissed off at Apple, possibly more than I am, for many of the same reasons. He is really into learning Linux more and maybe we'll become a Linux household, who knows. The thing is, though, that my career depends on Apple computers, so I will always be using one whether I like it or not; the Adobe Suite simply does not work nearly as good on a PC as it does on a Mac.
I have a feeling we're not alone in our unsettled issues with the giant Apple, either. Even in Popular Mechanics' piece comparing tablets, in the "Who Is It For" description, under the iPad they said 'Anyone who doesn't hold a grudge against Apple' and for the Samsung Galaxy it said 'Anyone who wants to break free from Apple's walled garden.' It made me laugh, but it also verified how I'm feeling. So I'll wait and see where Apple tries to push me next, but I'm no longer just a blind sheep following along.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
My day
I am on a great emotional high at the moment.
I just made a grrrrreat supper. I mean, we actually had a MEAL. I fixed chicken patties for sandwiches, white rice, and fresh corn on the cob. It was my first time cooking fresh veggies (I know, I know, it's just boiling water and salt mostly, but still) and the corn happened to be a delicious bunch, too. So that was all really good. Oh! And, not only did I do this, but my timing was perfect. All three things were done within 2 minutes of each other. And to top that, I just lined up three, count them THREE, lunches for myself this week. I boiled some noodles after supper so I could use up some spaghetti sauce I had in the fridge. I got two servings out of that, and in addition to that I have my leftovers from the Elephant Bar the other night.
Boo-yah!
All the dishes are clean, there are no dishes in our sink anymore, and we are ready to watch some Breaking Bad!
I just made a grrrrreat supper. I mean, we actually had a MEAL. I fixed chicken patties for sandwiches, white rice, and fresh corn on the cob. It was my first time cooking fresh veggies (I know, I know, it's just boiling water and salt mostly, but still) and the corn happened to be a delicious bunch, too. So that was all really good. Oh! And, not only did I do this, but my timing was perfect. All three things were done within 2 minutes of each other. And to top that, I just lined up three, count them THREE, lunches for myself this week. I boiled some noodles after supper so I could use up some spaghetti sauce I had in the fridge. I got two servings out of that, and in addition to that I have my leftovers from the Elephant Bar the other night.
Boo-yah!
All the dishes are clean, there are no dishes in our sink anymore, and we are ready to watch some Breaking Bad!
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Texas
Wow, it has been a while since I've posted anything. I wonder if anyone ever checks this anymore, on the off chance I have? I've had a couple crazy things going on in my life lately. First of all is my crazy bite. It all started with a normal mosquito bite above my ankle, then three days later I couldn't walk, then we went to UrgentCare and the doctor gave me a med, then it got a little better, then it slowed down, then I went to my normal doctor and he informed me this is a staph infection, it's cellulitus. Awesome.
It's better, mostly gone away, but still lingering. Luckily, Monday I have a checkup with my docs at Barnes so if they feel that it needs a good kick in the butt to go away, we can talk about it then.
The other crazy thing is something I thought of today. In light of my appointment Monday, I once again realized, as I always do right before these things, that another three months has gone by and I have not
started exercising daily. How much longer am I going to put this off? I mean, yes we've been busy lately getting things figured out, but more than anything I think we just 'feel' busy because we're still falling into the routine of married life. Hey guess what, no one else is hear to do the dishes, or put them away, or cut the grass, or clean, or allllll of those other chores you don't think of much when you live at home once you're home from college. So I consider it more of an adjustment than the fact that we're necessarily "busy". Anyways, with the exercise it doesn't always work for me to work out outside. I am NOT going to get up at 4am in order to beat the heat, but some evenings are still too hot. Something interesting has happened as I've gotten older: my lungs have changed their temperature preferences.
When I was little, the winter bothered me. I dreaded walking much of anywhere because if it was cold, there was a good chance it would trigger a coughing fit. Now, it's the heat; getting into a hot car nearly suffocates me if it's over 100 outside. And strangely, I can handle the winter a lot better.
So working out at night isn't always great either. Thus, we need a gym membership. There's about one option, maybe two, for us here in town, and it's not very cost-effective to join different gyms close to where we work. I know we need to do this, but I just don't know when we'll think of it and actually do it. How long, now, have I been saying 'I need to just DO it.'? What in the world am I waiting for? The one day I wake up and I'm gasping for air? In thinking about that... no, not really. I know the benefits. I've felt them before. I can get around a lot easier, stay out longer, and just tolerate everything much better. Not to mention, if we ever want to try having kids, I need to start working for it now. If I've never mentioned anything about moms with CF, here's the answer: yes I can have kids, it's just difficult and obviously can have its risks. Ideally, I should be in tip top shape in order to carry full-term and not have a hospitalization during that period of time.
Exercise. What's stopping me? I have no answer for that, which feels much worse than having a valid excuse. Okay, for about a week there was no way I could exercise with my ankle/bite/staph, but I'm not
counting that. It was a week. Gosh I need to kick my butt into gear. Thanks for reading this extremely-stream-of-consciousness blog.
It's better, mostly gone away, but still lingering. Luckily, Monday I have a checkup with my docs at Barnes so if they feel that it needs a good kick in the butt to go away, we can talk about it then.
The other crazy thing is something I thought of today. In light of my appointment Monday, I once again realized, as I always do right before these things, that another three months has gone by and I have not
started exercising daily. How much longer am I going to put this off? I mean, yes we've been busy lately getting things figured out, but more than anything I think we just 'feel' busy because we're still falling into the routine of married life. Hey guess what, no one else is hear to do the dishes, or put them away, or cut the grass, or clean, or allllll of those other chores you don't think of much when you live at home once you're home from college. So I consider it more of an adjustment than the fact that we're necessarily "busy". Anyways, with the exercise it doesn't always work for me to work out outside. I am NOT going to get up at 4am in order to beat the heat, but some evenings are still too hot. Something interesting has happened as I've gotten older: my lungs have changed their temperature preferences.
When I was little, the winter bothered me. I dreaded walking much of anywhere because if it was cold, there was a good chance it would trigger a coughing fit. Now, it's the heat; getting into a hot car nearly suffocates me if it's over 100 outside. And strangely, I can handle the winter a lot better.
So working out at night isn't always great either. Thus, we need a gym membership. There's about one option, maybe two, for us here in town, and it's not very cost-effective to join different gyms close to where we work. I know we need to do this, but I just don't know when we'll think of it and actually do it. How long, now, have I been saying 'I need to just DO it.'? What in the world am I waiting for? The one day I wake up and I'm gasping for air? In thinking about that... no, not really. I know the benefits. I've felt them before. I can get around a lot easier, stay out longer, and just tolerate everything much better. Not to mention, if we ever want to try having kids, I need to start working for it now. If I've never mentioned anything about moms with CF, here's the answer: yes I can have kids, it's just difficult and obviously can have its risks. Ideally, I should be in tip top shape in order to carry full-term and not have a hospitalization during that period of time.
Exercise. What's stopping me? I have no answer for that, which feels much worse than having a valid excuse. Okay, for about a week there was no way I could exercise with my ankle/bite/staph, but I'm not
counting that. It was a week. Gosh I need to kick my butt into gear. Thanks for reading this extremely-stream-of-consciousness blog.
Monday, July 4, 2011
Well... what a 4th
First, I'd like to say that I'm not used to tons of fireworks going off in my neighborhood. In Washington, fireworks are illegal, but obviously not here in Wentzville. Our neighbors have been setting them off for quite a while now; big ones too. Anyways, I caught about five seconds of the city's fireworks from the front window. Woo hoo... five seconds, ha.
Anyways, it's been quite a fourth of July this year. I went to the Lake with Jarrod's family, as usual, on Friday. We went out on the boat a few times, took the wave runner out once, and I hopefully gained back a little weight throughout this weekend. And I didn't get sunburned! However... I did get something else, and at this point I think I would trade it for a sunburn.
I got bit by something. I think this something bit me Friday night. Saturday I started to notice a few mosquito bites on myself. I have a couple on my arms, a few on my legs, a few on some of my little toes (they always go after my toes. what the crap?) and one right above my ankle on my leg. And it hurt. Well, it ached Saturday, hurt a little more Sunday, and then overnight and this morning it hurt so bad I was unable to walk on it. I called the pulmonary doctor on call to see if this was some crazy side effect to a medicine I started. It wasn't, it was probably a bite. We came home early from the Lake today to go to UrgentCare, where the doctor said it looked like a bite that is infected, which is kind of what the pulmonologist suspected. I was prescribed an antibiotic to help take away the infection.
So, here I am getting ready for bed now. My foot hurts again... a lot. The pain subsided a little earlier this evening, but now it's back. And, moreover, the red spot on my leg has grown. I've been elevating my leg and applied a cold compress, but to no avail. I took my first dose of the antibiotic, but obviously that's not going to do much right now.
Like I said, I think I'd trade this for a sunburn. A sunburn sounds more appealing right now than a strange infection going on under your skin that hurts so bad you can't even walk... I'm not sure that I'm
going to make it to work tomorrow either. I was able to walk a little today, but tonight it's hurting again, and if I wake up like I feel right now, there is no way I'll be able to walk. I'm sure walking and
putting pressure and weight on it isn't helping either.
Anyways, it's been quite a fourth of July this year. I went to the Lake with Jarrod's family, as usual, on Friday. We went out on the boat a few times, took the wave runner out once, and I hopefully gained back a little weight throughout this weekend. And I didn't get sunburned! However... I did get something else, and at this point I think I would trade it for a sunburn.
I got bit by something. I think this something bit me Friday night. Saturday I started to notice a few mosquito bites on myself. I have a couple on my arms, a few on my legs, a few on some of my little toes (they always go after my toes. what the crap?) and one right above my ankle on my leg. And it hurt. Well, it ached Saturday, hurt a little more Sunday, and then overnight and this morning it hurt so bad I was unable to walk on it. I called the pulmonary doctor on call to see if this was some crazy side effect to a medicine I started. It wasn't, it was probably a bite. We came home early from the Lake today to go to UrgentCare, where the doctor said it looked like a bite that is infected, which is kind of what the pulmonologist suspected. I was prescribed an antibiotic to help take away the infection.
So, here I am getting ready for bed now. My foot hurts again... a lot. The pain subsided a little earlier this evening, but now it's back. And, moreover, the red spot on my leg has grown. I've been elevating my leg and applied a cold compress, but to no avail. I took my first dose of the antibiotic, but obviously that's not going to do much right now.
Like I said, I think I'd trade this for a sunburn. A sunburn sounds more appealing right now than a strange infection going on under your skin that hurts so bad you can't even walk... I'm not sure that I'm
going to make it to work tomorrow either. I was able to walk a little today, but tonight it's hurting again, and if I wake up like I feel right now, there is no way I'll be able to walk. I'm sure walking and
putting pressure and weight on it isn't helping either.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Wise old creatures?
As far back as I can remember, I have always liked turtles. I can't explain it. And if the Buddhists' version of creation is correct, I was probably a turtle in a previous life.
So since I love turtles so much, I love it when I see one, and I am on the lookout, perhaps a smidge more than your average person.
You've probably heard the old saying "When you see a turtle cross the road, that means it's going to rain." (And if you haven't heard, well let me introduce you to this.) I don't know about you, but more times than not, this turns out to be true! Strange coincidence, right? I'm not so sure that it is...
I've had this theory for a long time that I believe there may be some truth to this. I've tried to do a little research on google from time to time when I think of it, but with no results. Either I'm not typing in the right search criteria or no one has ever done a study on it. But my theory is that the reason you more than likely see a turtle is because they are on the move, trying to find safety, a better shelter, or... something. Turtles are, by nature, kinda shy if you haven't noticed. Why would they continuously put themselves in harm's way crossing a road if they didn't feel, in their being, that it was necessary? I think they do this because they can sense the changes in the atmosphere, and therefore start moving to take cover, or whatever. It's long been thought that many animals have strange sixth senses connected to mother nature, so why not turtles too? They've been around for so long and most of them live until they're 100; I'm pretty confident they have some sort of connection with mother Earth.
But, the entire reason I'm bringing this up is because in the past 3 days, I saw more turtles than in a long time. I had multiple spottings every day. And it definitely isn't raining here; it's one of the driest, hottest weeks yet. Now it makes sense to me: they were on the move because they could feel the earth trembling. This morning we had a small earthquake not too far from here. It was a 3.9 or a 4.2, depending which website you read, but it still woke me up and lasted about 30 seconds. Just like cats supposedly do something strange before an earthquake, I think these turtles were responding too. What do you think? Am I crazy?
So since I love turtles so much, I love it when I see one, and I am on the lookout, perhaps a smidge more than your average person.
You've probably heard the old saying "When you see a turtle cross the road, that means it's going to rain." (And if you haven't heard, well let me introduce you to this.) I don't know about you, but more times than not, this turns out to be true! Strange coincidence, right? I'm not so sure that it is...
I've had this theory for a long time that I believe there may be some truth to this. I've tried to do a little research on google from time to time when I think of it, but with no results. Either I'm not typing in the right search criteria or no one has ever done a study on it. But my theory is that the reason you more than likely see a turtle is because they are on the move, trying to find safety, a better shelter, or... something. Turtles are, by nature, kinda shy if you haven't noticed. Why would they continuously put themselves in harm's way crossing a road if they didn't feel, in their being, that it was necessary? I think they do this because they can sense the changes in the atmosphere, and therefore start moving to take cover, or whatever. It's long been thought that many animals have strange sixth senses connected to mother nature, so why not turtles too? They've been around for so long and most of them live until they're 100; I'm pretty confident they have some sort of connection with mother Earth.
But, the entire reason I'm bringing this up is because in the past 3 days, I saw more turtles than in a long time. I had multiple spottings every day. And it definitely isn't raining here; it's one of the driest, hottest weeks yet. Now it makes sense to me: they were on the move because they could feel the earth trembling. This morning we had a small earthquake not too far from here. It was a 3.9 or a 4.2, depending which website you read, but it still woke me up and lasted about 30 seconds. Just like cats supposedly do something strange before an earthquake, I think these turtles were responding too. What do you think? Am I crazy?
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Discoveries
Well, we are down to less than a month until the wedding. I gotta tell you, right now both Jarrod and I are ready for the day to just be here. Apparently, this is not too uncommon of a feeling.
These past couple months have been quite a journey, and I've had a lot of internal struggles going on which I barely mention; probably because I'm an introvert and feel it is my duty, and mine alone, to tackle them. However, I'm feeling in a great mood right now (not sure why...) so why not air out the laundry...
On a sad note: All of this wedding craziness has made me very, very forgetful. Not to sound bragging, but this is quite uncommon in my life. I have been blessed with a great brain that can divide itself into many tasks at once and I always, always, have things on the back burner. But I guess I have finally met my breaking point, because keeping track of all of this stuff has just been wearing on me. I forget to call this person, until two weeks have gone by. I forget to email this person, schedule this appointment. Granted, all these things still get done, but just not in the timely manner I usually do them in. In another department there's my room: it's a disaster. I should be trying to pack things up to move to the house, but I just don't think about it while I'm downstairs in the evenings. Instead, it stresses me out when I'm getting ready for bed and am in my room with the visual evidence that: my life is a mess. So I never remember to start packing, clean, put my laundry away, and everything else related.
Another sad note: I've dropped most communication between people as well, and not because I wanted to. I will take this moment to apologize and ask that you realize I'm not intentionally avoiding you, rarely emailing, or not calling, I just don't remember. Again, the forgetfulness.
These past couple months have been quite a journey, and I've had a lot of internal struggles going on which I barely mention; probably because I'm an introvert and feel it is my duty, and mine alone, to tackle them. However, I'm feeling in a great mood right now (not sure why...) so why not air out the laundry...
On a sad note: All of this wedding craziness has made me very, very forgetful. Not to sound bragging, but this is quite uncommon in my life. I have been blessed with a great brain that can divide itself into many tasks at once and I always, always, have things on the back burner. But I guess I have finally met my breaking point, because keeping track of all of this stuff has just been wearing on me. I forget to call this person, until two weeks have gone by. I forget to email this person, schedule this appointment. Granted, all these things still get done, but just not in the timely manner I usually do them in. In another department there's my room: it's a disaster. I should be trying to pack things up to move to the house, but I just don't think about it while I'm downstairs in the evenings. Instead, it stresses me out when I'm getting ready for bed and am in my room with the visual evidence that: my life is a mess. So I never remember to start packing, clean, put my laundry away, and everything else related.
Another sad note: I've dropped most communication between people as well, and not because I wanted to. I will take this moment to apologize and ask that you realize I'm not intentionally avoiding you, rarely emailing, or not calling, I just don't remember. Again, the forgetfulness.
Friday, May 27, 2011
A great day
Isn't it great to reach the end of the day, and suddenly you realize 'Wow, this was a really great day?' That's where I'm at right now, because today HAS been great!
Work was good; I was busy most of the day. I got to make possibly the most exciting video yet, with footage from a demolition of a building this morning. Yes, it was sad to see it go, but watching things be demolished or constructed is always interesting. However, come to think of it, I forgot to watch it in reverse... I was going to do that when I was all done.
After work I headed straight up the road for my wedding dress fitting, which was awesome! Julia, Marie, Wanda, and Heather all came along to see and to learn how to do the bustle. It looked great, and I actually got my veil yesterday, so we really got to see the total picture.
After that, I had dinner with Heather, which was so awesome. We haven't seen each other in a long time, or really gotten a chance to chat in an even longer time. After that, I headed to Becky's house where her, myself, Jeff, and Jojo played 90s Trivial Pursuit. Becky won, though I was darn close a couple times! My biggest letdown was when my mind blanked on Apple's first PDA... I couldn't think of the name! I kept thinking "Nook" or "Nink"... well, if you have never heard of it, it was called the Newton. And it was huge flop.
Then I hung around with Becky for a while and we got to talk, which was also awesome because, like Heather, it had been a while.
And now I am home doing my vest. I entered the six RSVP's I got today for the wedding. Those were due today, but I am obviously expecting some stragglers the next few days. After that, we'll see how many people I have to call. Right now, I am missing 61 replies. To me, that seems like a lot, but who knows. It's probably standard.
Work was good; I was busy most of the day. I got to make possibly the most exciting video yet, with footage from a demolition of a building this morning. Yes, it was sad to see it go, but watching things be demolished or constructed is always interesting. However, come to think of it, I forgot to watch it in reverse... I was going to do that when I was all done.
After work I headed straight up the road for my wedding dress fitting, which was awesome! Julia, Marie, Wanda, and Heather all came along to see and to learn how to do the bustle. It looked great, and I actually got my veil yesterday, so we really got to see the total picture.
After that, I had dinner with Heather, which was so awesome. We haven't seen each other in a long time, or really gotten a chance to chat in an even longer time. After that, I headed to Becky's house where her, myself, Jeff, and Jojo played 90s Trivial Pursuit. Becky won, though I was darn close a couple times! My biggest letdown was when my mind blanked on Apple's first PDA... I couldn't think of the name! I kept thinking "Nook" or "Nink"... well, if you have never heard of it, it was called the Newton. And it was huge flop.
Then I hung around with Becky for a while and we got to talk, which was also awesome because, like Heather, it had been a while.
And now I am home doing my vest. I entered the six RSVP's I got today for the wedding. Those were due today, but I am obviously expecting some stragglers the next few days. After that, we'll see how many people I have to call. Right now, I am missing 61 replies. To me, that seems like a lot, but who knows. It's probably standard.
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