I passed my 100 wpm jury charge test! SOOOOO HAPPY!!
Now all I have to do is pass that damn literary....Oh well, back to work :)
Friday, June 30, 2006
Adventures in the ER
All right, I don't know exactly what's been going on this week, it's been really really weird. First there was my little "freak out" at the blood mobile, and now this incident:
Wednesday night, about 9:30, my sister Stephanie complained of seeing spots in her left eye and getting a headache. No one thought anything of it. Half an hour later, she got up to let the dogs out. She was carrying her little dog back in when the whole left side of her body suddenly went numb and lost most of the strength. She dropped the dog (who is fine) and stumbled back into the house. We put her to bed and called the doctor on call. He said if it's an emergency, take her to the emergency room. He was pretty much no help, because we weren't sure if it WAS an emergency. While I stayed with Steph, holding her hand and rubbing her arm (which she didn't feel me doing), my mom called her insurance company and spoke with an RN. She said those are not normal symptoms for a 19-year-old and to call 911, which I did. I have never called 911 before, and I wasn't prepared for the Twenty Questions the guy wanted to play. We thought the kid was having a stroke; I don't know if she's slurring her speech because she's crying hysterically and hyperventilating. He gave up after a few minutes and sent an ambulance.
I don't know if it's a Midwestern thing or what, but whenever an ambulance or fire truck came down any street we had ever lived on, all the neighbors would go out into their driveways and basically just be nosy. No one came out. I don't know if it's because it was kind of late (10:45 PM or so) and everybody was in bed after "Matlock" or whatever; we just thought it was strange. Anyway, they took her to the closest hospital, and we followed. Mom got her registered, and they told us they would come get us when we could see her. An hour and a half later, they finally came for us. At this point, we were good and freaked out, not knowing what was wrong with her. She seemed okay, except her eye felt like it was going to pop out of the socket and she still couldn't feel or move her left side. She said the nurses were saying it was glaucoma because of the pressure behind her eye. They wouldn't listen to her when she said she couldn't feel her left side, so the doctor was surprised by this information when he finally got around to seeing her. Basically, they felt that she was faking the numbness or something. They kept saying things like, "We're going to be spending hundreds of thousands of dollars investigating this, so make sure you REALLY are having these symptoms." First off, since when did a cat scan cost HUNDREDS of thousands of dollars?? And secondly, insurance will pay for it, so what the hell do they care?
The cat scan came back normal, so they discharged her at 3 AM. No wheelchair, no directive on where to go, nothing. We wound up half-carrying her to the car. Most of the staff were rude and nasty. I'm thinking of putting a note in my wallet that if anything happens to me, car accident or whatever, I am NOT to go to Bayonet Point Hospital. Take the extra 10 minutes and drive me up to Spring Hill or down to New Port Richey. Jeesh.
Anyway, Steph went to her family doctor yesterday afternoon, and after an MRI came back normal, they determined it was most likely a rare side effect of the Nexium she's taking for her ulcer. They eye thing was probably an ocular migraine, and I don't understand what the numbness/weakness was as it was explained to me by my mom. Hell, she probably didn't understand it either. But she can feel her left leg again, and she's got feeling back in parts of her arm--from the wrist down and the shoulder up. Still numb in the middle (as of yesterday afternoon). Strange.
<> Drama drama drama. When will it ever end??
Wednesday night, about 9:30, my sister Stephanie complained of seeing spots in her left eye and getting a headache. No one thought anything of it. Half an hour later, she got up to let the dogs out. She was carrying her little dog back in when the whole left side of her body suddenly went numb and lost most of the strength. She dropped the dog (who is fine) and stumbled back into the house. We put her to bed and called the doctor on call. He said if it's an emergency, take her to the emergency room. He was pretty much no help, because we weren't sure if it WAS an emergency. While I stayed with Steph, holding her hand and rubbing her arm (which she didn't feel me doing), my mom called her insurance company and spoke with an RN. She said those are not normal symptoms for a 19-year-old and to call 911, which I did. I have never called 911 before, and I wasn't prepared for the Twenty Questions the guy wanted to play. We thought the kid was having a stroke; I don't know if she's slurring her speech because she's crying hysterically and hyperventilating. He gave up after a few minutes and sent an ambulance.
I don't know if it's a Midwestern thing or what, but whenever an ambulance or fire truck came down any street we had ever lived on, all the neighbors would go out into their driveways and basically just be nosy. No one came out. I don't know if it's because it was kind of late (10:45 PM or so) and everybody was in bed after "Matlock" or whatever; we just thought it was strange. Anyway, they took her to the closest hospital, and we followed. Mom got her registered, and they told us they would come get us when we could see her. An hour and a half later, they finally came for us. At this point, we were good and freaked out, not knowing what was wrong with her. She seemed okay, except her eye felt like it was going to pop out of the socket and she still couldn't feel or move her left side. She said the nurses were saying it was glaucoma because of the pressure behind her eye. They wouldn't listen to her when she said she couldn't feel her left side, so the doctor was surprised by this information when he finally got around to seeing her. Basically, they felt that she was faking the numbness or something. They kept saying things like, "We're going to be spending hundreds of thousands of dollars investigating this, so make sure you REALLY are having these symptoms." First off, since when did a cat scan cost HUNDREDS of thousands of dollars?? And secondly, insurance will pay for it, so what the hell do they care?
The cat scan came back normal, so they discharged her at 3 AM. No wheelchair, no directive on where to go, nothing. We wound up half-carrying her to the car. Most of the staff were rude and nasty. I'm thinking of putting a note in my wallet that if anything happens to me, car accident or whatever, I am NOT to go to Bayonet Point Hospital. Take the extra 10 minutes and drive me up to Spring Hill or down to New Port Richey. Jeesh.
Anyway, Steph went to her family doctor yesterday afternoon, and after an MRI came back normal, they determined it was most likely a rare side effect of the Nexium she's taking for her ulcer. They eye thing was probably an ocular migraine, and I don't understand what the numbness/weakness was as it was explained to me by my mom. Hell, she probably didn't understand it either. But she can feel her left leg again, and she's got feeling back in parts of her arm--from the wrist down and the shoulder up. Still numb in the middle (as of yesterday afternoon). Strange.
<
Monday, June 26, 2006
Weird Day
Okay, first off, I forgot to change my alarm clock, so it was still on 8 AM from the weekend. I usually get up at 5 AM. My mom came in and woke me up at 6, a full hour late. I wasn't late for school, but I didn't have a chance to eat breakfast, so I grabbed a Balance bar on my way out the door.
Then I managed to drop and/or knock over pretty much everything I touched. I knocked over my steno machine TWICE. I knocked a stack of books off of my computer tower. No, they shouldn't have been there, but they were. And then they were on the floor.
Then, after lunch, I *attempted* to donate blood. So I sat in the little room at the back of the bloodmobile while the guy took my information and pricked my finger to test my iron. Surprisingly, it dropped, although it kind of hung around in the middle of the vial for a while. The supervisor for Florida Blood Services was there today, checking on the staff I guess, and she wanted me to do this thing where they hook you up to a machine that separates the components of your blood and then puts them back into you, except for the red blood cell platelets. As I was reading the paper on the procedure and the possible side effects, I suddenly became drenched in sweat and dizzy. Then I started hyperventilating. The guy who was with me said I had pretty much lost what little color I had (refer to any picture of me), so he ran out and got a couple of cold packs and put one around my neck and one on my forehead. He kept asking me questions, like, "Did you eat today? Are you maybe pregnant?" That last one made me giggle as I was trying not to vomit all over the little room. "NOT pregnant," I managed between wheezes. Although in my mind, I was rolling around on the floor laughing. Let's see, the LAST immaculate conception was, what, like 2000 years ago?? Sure, maybe humanity is ready for another. Anyway, after I stood up, I guess my color drained yet AGAIN, so they moved me out to the reclining seats and made me lay there with more cold packs on.
Anyhow, my reaction felt like the one and only anxiety attack I had had several years ago. So maybe it was the combination of little food, little sleep, and the weirdness of the procedure they wanted me to do. I don't know. I'm fine now, though. To supplement my blood sugar (that was my "official" explanation; I just wanted it...), I ate a Take 5 candy bar. My theory is those things are laced with crack, which is why you can't stop eating them once you start. Everybody I know who eats them feels the same ;)
So, that was my weird day. And I still have six hours to go. Lord only knows what will happen at work tonight. One thing I can tell you is I'm NOT going to be doing a whole lot. Oh, and I'm totally using this as an excuse to not clean the bathrooms--the story will be told for the sake of eliciting sympathy from my co-worker ;)
Then I managed to drop and/or knock over pretty much everything I touched. I knocked over my steno machine TWICE. I knocked a stack of books off of my computer tower. No, they shouldn't have been there, but they were. And then they were on the floor.
Then, after lunch, I *attempted* to donate blood. So I sat in the little room at the back of the bloodmobile while the guy took my information and pricked my finger to test my iron. Surprisingly, it dropped, although it kind of hung around in the middle of the vial for a while. The supervisor for Florida Blood Services was there today, checking on the staff I guess, and she wanted me to do this thing where they hook you up to a machine that separates the components of your blood and then puts them back into you, except for the red blood cell platelets. As I was reading the paper on the procedure and the possible side effects, I suddenly became drenched in sweat and dizzy. Then I started hyperventilating. The guy who was with me said I had pretty much lost what little color I had (refer to any picture of me), so he ran out and got a couple of cold packs and put one around my neck and one on my forehead. He kept asking me questions, like, "Did you eat today? Are you maybe pregnant?" That last one made me giggle as I was trying not to vomit all over the little room. "NOT pregnant," I managed between wheezes. Although in my mind, I was rolling around on the floor laughing. Let's see, the LAST immaculate conception was, what, like 2000 years ago?? Sure, maybe humanity is ready for another. Anyway, after I stood up, I guess my color drained yet AGAIN, so they moved me out to the reclining seats and made me lay there with more cold packs on.
Anyhow, my reaction felt like the one and only anxiety attack I had had several years ago. So maybe it was the combination of little food, little sleep, and the weirdness of the procedure they wanted me to do. I don't know. I'm fine now, though. To supplement my blood sugar (that was my "official" explanation; I just wanted it...), I ate a Take 5 candy bar. My theory is those things are laced with crack, which is why you can't stop eating them once you start. Everybody I know who eats them feels the same ;)
So, that was my weird day. And I still have six hours to go. Lord only knows what will happen at work tonight. One thing I can tell you is I'm NOT going to be doing a whole lot. Oh, and I'm totally using this as an excuse to not clean the bathrooms--the story will be told for the sake of eliciting sympathy from my co-worker ;)
Sunday, June 25, 2006
Pictures!
Nothing new to report....Just wanted to post a couple new pictures :)
This is my bad kitty, Dixie. Wish I was a cat....
This would be me. Self-portrait taken last week Friday.
This is my birthday cake. Hello Kitty birthday cake at age 32. Insert your own jokes here :)
This is my bad kitty, Dixie. Wish I was a cat....
This would be me. Self-portrait taken last week Friday.
This is my birthday cake. Hello Kitty birthday cake at age 32. Insert your own jokes here :)
Monday, June 19, 2006
Monday :-P
Hello everybody! Just my weekly check-in. Not really much going on--same stuff, different week. School, work, run, repeat. I was shooting for 20 miles this week, but due to sheer laziness, I managed to get in 17. Well, Nancy told me to adhere to the 10% rule while I'm trying to ramp stuff up in preparation for marathon training, which starts next week for me, so, ummmm, that's what I did. I wasn't lazy, I was prudent in my approach to training ;)
School stuff: After missing my 100 wpm literary test by SEVEN WORDS early last week, I came back with a train wreck of a test on Thursday. It sounded like the dictating instructor (the dictator?) was speaking Greek. At 150 words per minute. ((sigh)) This week fer sure....
Work stuff: Still sucks. I worked Saturday night. It wasn't really that bad. A few of us were playing with a clock that announced the hours with quotes from Homer Simpson. (My favorite: "Mmmmmm....64 slices of American cheeeeeese.....") Then, at the end of the night I went to clean the bathrooms. Some kid (and you just KNOW it was a kid) thought it would be funny to lock the men's room stall from the inside, so I had to slide under the stall on my stomach, on the gross floor, and unlock it. Little rat bastard, whoever he is. Anyway, I told Jeff, the closing manager, that I didn't want to hear any pissing and moaning about how I don't put forth my best effort in cleaning the bathrooms (which I don't, but I digress...), since NO ONE else would have belly-crawled under the men's room stall. So Jeff says, "Oh yeah, I went into the bathroom about 45 minutes ago and I looked under the door and I didn't see any feet." Me: "Okay, so YOU could have gone under instead of me??" Jeff: "Yeah, RIGHT! A big fat guy? I wouldn't have made it all the way under!" Now this is the point in the conversation where I'm glad Jeff and I have a good relationship, because, without thinking (as ususal), I said: "Yeah. I guess it would have been like Pooh getting stuck in the rabbit hole...." (Jeff is about 6'2" and goes about 260 lbs.) Thankfully, he just busted out laughing.
So, that's been my week. Marathon training starts next week, as I've previously mentioned, and my next event is a 10K in Dunedin at midnight on July 4th. I've never done a midnight race, so it should be fun :)
School stuff: After missing my 100 wpm literary test by SEVEN WORDS early last week, I came back with a train wreck of a test on Thursday. It sounded like the dictating instructor (the dictator?) was speaking Greek. At 150 words per minute. ((sigh)) This week fer sure....
Work stuff: Still sucks. I worked Saturday night. It wasn't really that bad. A few of us were playing with a clock that announced the hours with quotes from Homer Simpson. (My favorite: "Mmmmmm....64 slices of American cheeeeeese.....") Then, at the end of the night I went to clean the bathrooms. Some kid (and you just KNOW it was a kid) thought it would be funny to lock the men's room stall from the inside, so I had to slide under the stall on my stomach, on the gross floor, and unlock it. Little rat bastard, whoever he is. Anyway, I told Jeff, the closing manager, that I didn't want to hear any pissing and moaning about how I don't put forth my best effort in cleaning the bathrooms (which I don't, but I digress...), since NO ONE else would have belly-crawled under the men's room stall. So Jeff says, "Oh yeah, I went into the bathroom about 45 minutes ago and I looked under the door and I didn't see any feet." Me: "Okay, so YOU could have gone under instead of me??" Jeff: "Yeah, RIGHT! A big fat guy? I wouldn't have made it all the way under!" Now this is the point in the conversation where I'm glad Jeff and I have a good relationship, because, without thinking (as ususal), I said: "Yeah. I guess it would have been like Pooh getting stuck in the rabbit hole...." (Jeff is about 6'2" and goes about 260 lbs.) Thankfully, he just busted out laughing.
So, that's been my week. Marathon training starts next week, as I've previously mentioned, and my next event is a 10K in Dunedin at midnight on July 4th. I've never done a midnight race, so it should be fun :)
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Another exciting peek into my life....
First for my training last week: I got in a whopping 15 miles on the streets of my 'hood. Which is fine. I'm going for 20 this week. My "official" training for Baltimore starts on June 27th, so I'm just kinda ramping stuff up right now. I'm also going to start doing some weight training next week.
School stuff: I took a 100 word-per-minute literary speed test on Monday, and I was feeling quite good about it. Well, I missed passing by just SEVEN WORDS!! Which, really, is great. I have to pass a five-minute test with 95% accuracy, which means I can have 25 errors in my transcript. On the 100s I took last week, I had 93 errors on one (yes, I missed almost an entire minute of dictation....)and 57 on another. Hmmmm, consistent practice DOES pay off. Wish I had listened to everyone who told me that four years ago....
Work stuff: Work sucks. 'Nuff said. Seriously though, I usually only work two weeknights (usually 5.5 hours each) and one weekend day (7.5 - 8 hours). And I bitch and complain about every one of those hours ;) Anyway, one of the other front end supervisors took a vacation this week, so they had to fill her shifts. Now, there are only four of us, which is ridiculous by the way, so they gave Anne all the day shifts, plus her usual Friday night, and I got all but one of the night shifts, which gave me three weekday shifts. Poor Nikki got ONE shift. She asked if she could have my Thursday night. Ummmm, OKAY! It wouldn't be a big deal, but I get up at 5 AM every morning and have to drive into Tampa, which is about 40 miles from my house, to go to school. When I get home at 11 PM, it usually takes me a while to unwind, so by the time I shower, get into bed, and read a bit to relax, it's well after midnight. Causing the sleep deprivation that hits me like a ton of bricks every couple of months or so.
Tropical Storm Alberto: Was pretty weak. I worked Monday night, which is when the worst of it came through. We just stood and watched it pour buckets into the parking lot. During the dry spurts, the idiots came in to buy overpriced sheets and towels (which might have come in handy....)
No running or practicing steno tonight due to working at Death & Beyond. If anyone's in Port Richey this evening, drop in and say hi--I'll be the one trying to figure out how to hang myself using wooden hangers and a set of $100 sheets ;)
School stuff: I took a 100 word-per-minute literary speed test on Monday, and I was feeling quite good about it. Well, I missed passing by just SEVEN WORDS!! Which, really, is great. I have to pass a five-minute test with 95% accuracy, which means I can have 25 errors in my transcript. On the 100s I took last week, I had 93 errors on one (yes, I missed almost an entire minute of dictation....)and 57 on another. Hmmmm, consistent practice DOES pay off. Wish I had listened to everyone who told me that four years ago....
Work stuff: Work sucks. 'Nuff said. Seriously though, I usually only work two weeknights (usually 5.5 hours each) and one weekend day (7.5 - 8 hours). And I bitch and complain about every one of those hours ;) Anyway, one of the other front end supervisors took a vacation this week, so they had to fill her shifts. Now, there are only four of us, which is ridiculous by the way, so they gave Anne all the day shifts, plus her usual Friday night, and I got all but one of the night shifts, which gave me three weekday shifts. Poor Nikki got ONE shift. She asked if she could have my Thursday night. Ummmm, OKAY! It wouldn't be a big deal, but I get up at 5 AM every morning and have to drive into Tampa, which is about 40 miles from my house, to go to school. When I get home at 11 PM, it usually takes me a while to unwind, so by the time I shower, get into bed, and read a bit to relax, it's well after midnight. Causing the sleep deprivation that hits me like a ton of bricks every couple of months or so.
Tropical Storm Alberto: Was pretty weak. I worked Monday night, which is when the worst of it came through. We just stood and watched it pour buckets into the parking lot. During the dry spurts, the idiots came in to buy overpriced sheets and towels (which might have come in handy....)
No running or practicing steno tonight due to working at Death & Beyond. If anyone's in Port Richey this evening, drop in and say hi--I'll be the one trying to figure out how to hang myself using wooden hangers and a set of $100 sheets ;)
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
An Open Memo to Guys Everywhere
TO: The Male Species
FROM: Me
RE: Common Sense
If you're talking to a girl for a while and then, for whatever reason, decide you're not into her anymore--please have the stones to TELL HER!! Don't just not call or not contact her again. That is SO aggravating, and way more likely to make her angry than just saying, "Hey, I changed my mind" or whatever. It's kind of sad that this is probably enlightening information for you.
Just a little friendly advice from Sister Mary Shawn, your neighborhood soon-to-be nun. Should you have any questions, please contact me.
FROM: Me
RE: Common Sense
If you're talking to a girl for a while and then, for whatever reason, decide you're not into her anymore--please have the stones to TELL HER!! Don't just not call or not contact her again. That is SO aggravating, and way more likely to make her angry than just saying, "Hey, I changed my mind" or whatever. It's kind of sad that this is probably enlightening information for you.
Just a little friendly advice from Sister Mary Shawn, your neighborhood soon-to-be nun. Should you have any questions, please contact me.
Monday, June 05, 2006
My previous "Irrelevant" post
Hey guys--I am totally grateful that I have you guys. That's way better than some stupid guy! I was just in kind of a funk when I wrote that post. You know, feeling depressed and sorry for myself and all that, not realizing how whiny I sounded. Between all my friends and my family, I know I am very lucky to have people who make me relevant :)
I just wanted to let you all know that. And now, so it doesn't get too heavy, I'll end on this note:
I love you, man! (Really, I do!)
I just wanted to let you all know that. And now, so it doesn't get too heavy, I'll end on this note:
I love you, man! (Really, I do!)
Sleepy Weekend
Well, this weekend was pretty much a bust. I hadn't been sleeping well earlier in the week (I had gotten about 8 hours total in three days), which happens every couple of months or so, so I left school early on Thursday and ditched completely on Friday. Slept in on both Saturday and Sunday (had to work Saturday, but didn't have to go in until 2 PM). I'm feeling much better today, and I bought some melatonin to help with my sleep problem, should it happen again :)
As a result of all the sleeping, I'm behind on my blog-reading and e-mails, and I bagged my workouts all week. So for the first time since January, I have a zero-mile week in my running log :( I should have run; I probably would have slept better. Anyway, I'm back on track, which makes me happy.
I have a few photos I need to download; one of my Hello Kitty birthday cake (yes, I'm 32 and I had a Hello Kitty birthday cake--are you sad for me??) and then a couple random shots my sister took of me. We really need to do something fun to take pictures of instead of just making goofy faces at each other.
Oh, and I have a gripe, but I don't have time to rant about it right now. Perhaps this afternoon :)
Later, gators.
As a result of all the sleeping, I'm behind on my blog-reading and e-mails, and I bagged my workouts all week. So for the first time since January, I have a zero-mile week in my running log :( I should have run; I probably would have slept better. Anyway, I'm back on track, which makes me happy.
I have a few photos I need to download; one of my Hello Kitty birthday cake (yes, I'm 32 and I had a Hello Kitty birthday cake--are you sad for me??) and then a couple random shots my sister took of me. We really need to do something fun to take pictures of instead of just making goofy faces at each other.
Oh, and I have a gripe, but I don't have time to rant about it right now. Perhaps this afternoon :)
Later, gators.
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