Blurf. Ersatz Scotch Egg and first cuppa WTHU consumed.
Rebo, I doan wanna scare you by mentioning this. One of the things beat into our skulls in EMT school is that a TIA occurence means that a full-blown stroke is highly probable, and soon. Get ReboDad to a neurologist or vascular specialist ASAP.
TIAs also correlate to ischemic strokes (blocked arteries), which are much easier to deal with than the bleeding type.
Well, there’s a “rumor*” that there is a round of layoffs next week planned to target people in contract positions. That means both Hawkeyeop and I. I am much more worried than he is. But, that’s typical. I can’t imagine us both losing our jobs, especially at the same time.
Sorry about DH, gotti. Have fun on your trip. I wish I had an already-paid-for-and-not-really-cancelable trip planned.
EEK to TIA, Rebo
*Does information given from a trustworthy source constitute a rumor if the information was not supposed to be given?
Oh, no mmouse! tosses Invisibility Cloak over mmouse and Hawkeyeop
That sucks gotti! Hope DH finds something right away. Have you considered trying to sell the cruise tickets on Craigs List or some such?
rebo, good vibes going out to Dad.
Veddy cold here this morning. Okay, not in comparison to the rest of the country but just the same. It kills my flipflops and shorts buzz.
Tupug
:dubious: Well, that’d probably help improve her mood…
Heyla, everyone.
Sorry to hear that, gotti - that happened to me once too. Sucks, but I’ve got a much better job now, so hey, ya never know, right?
Hoping you can avoid the Layoff Finger O Doom, mouse & Hawkeyeop!
I’m FREEZING - we’re supposed to have a high of 4 today and ZERO tomorrow. I can do without that.
I want my Global Warming and I want it NOW.
Thanks for the info on therapists, rigs. I may try that soon.
The temperature here hasn’t been above 0 since Monday and won’t be until Saturday. We’ve now got national media here to “see how we survive the frigid temperatures.” OK, it’s cold, but that’s a little silly. You 1) don’t go outside if you don’t have to; 2) bundle up when you do go outside including boots, hat, scarf, mittens, etc.; 3) don’t go outside. We don’t have an engine heater for our cars (they are kept in a garage over night) and they’re fine. It’s really not that bad. Now, up north it is considerably colder and people do need block heaters for their cars and stuff. But seriously, folks, people have lived here for hundreds (thousands? dunno) of years and have survived without all the creature comforts we have. It’s not a news story.
Yikes, rebo! Scary stuff.
Good luck, mousie! I was the one who was more nervous through all of KT’s job worries too. I think that’s just how it works - one person worries and the other just takes life as it comes. Very scary to think about both of you being unemployed at the same time though!
I agree with Nava, gotti. Two examples I know of - one employee started here for a month or so and then went to India to visit family for 6 weeks and a friend who started a job a couple weeks before a planned week’s vacation. In both cases the employer was understanding. Actually, KT even had a bit of this, although not quite as dramatic - he started work in July '06 and we got married and went on our honeymoon in Dec '06. We were gone for 10 days, but he didn’t have quite that much vacation time built up yet. They were fine with him taking unpaid time off. So I’d say DH should look for a job and if it gets to the offer stage, just tell them that he’d need two weeks off right away. They can rescind the offer or not, but better to have an offer in hand and be able to relax over the vacation.
We finally (well, after a week and a half) picked names for the gerbil sisters. Introducing Entropy and Enthalpy.
Thinking good thoughts for ReboDad and cj’s friend, and crossing fingers for mousie and Hawkeyeop’s continued employment.
Love the names for the gerbils, taxi. Not as good as Bubble and Squeak, but I’ll just have to keep up my campaign for someone to use those names. 
(glad you’ve confirmed they’re both female, too… that’s a relief)
Freezing cold here too. Like, cold enough that I could feel the insides of my nose freeze up as soon as I stepped out the door this morning. Brrrrrrr.
Thanks. We haven’t really confirmed that they’re both female except that no babies have appeared so we think we’re safe. :dubious:
Rebo, that happened to my mom a while back, she was diagnosed with TIA as well. The doctors at Kaiser found out that she’d been paying premiums to them for 15 years and had never been seen–hadn’t even picked out a PCP! They wouldn’t let her leave the hospital until she decided on a doctor and made a followup appointment. On the good side, that was several years ago and the issue has never occurred again, so take heart.
{{{gotti & DH}}} I concur with trying to sell the cruise tix on Craig’s List, and make sure DH files for unemployment immediately. It ain’t much but it’s something and there are a whole bunch of Fed and state extensions available if he goes long term without finding anything. Since you guys are in the Bay Area, you might check on the DailyKos affiliated networking site–I’ve noticed there are quite a few Kossacks in your area that might be useful for job tips and possible leads.
does Jedi mind trick in front of mousie & Hawkeyeop These are not the employees you are looking to axe–move along!
Taxi, them’s big names for such small critters! I like Bubble and Squeak–if I ever have small rodents (shyeah, right!) I’ll name them that just for you, Mahna[sup]2[/sup].
I’m on day 3 of my new regimen and doing well–I found a neat site for keeping food diaries and such–I like the way it makes it easy to log your food consumption and that it allows you to track a whole raft of different nutrients depending on what you’re concerned about. I’m keeping an eye on my fiber intake because I really need to improve that considerably.
Grr, I just found out that my direct deposit of unemployment benefits didn’t hit my account today, it says they’re sending a check for some unfathomable reason and that my new claim isn’t valid–I mean, really, WTF? So now I’m listening to their horrible hold music with mayhem in my heart… I hate bureaucracy, I really and truly do.
rides off on white steed with lance and sword to slay dragon
This made me smile.
Thanks for all of the well wishes, guys. I was telling one of my vendors about it this morning, and he said to make sure he gets my resume, and he’ll drop it off with the recruiters at his company with a good word. He said that he didn’t think that they’re actively hiring, but they’re still always looking for good people. I thought that was nice of him.
Filing with EDD is at the top of his list today.
The trip is irrevocably ours. Cancellation penalty is 100% and name changes are not allowed at this point either.
What the heck are Kossacks? I poked around at dailykos.com, and it looks like you need to be a young political activist to make sense of it. We are neither of those.
Yo, everyone. I’m waiting for the kidlet to wake up, and blinking from too much internetting. Muppet, we’re having a small afternoon tea type birthday party for Nat on Saturday, and wondered if you and The Boy would like to come. It’s about four. Email or message me.
Aw, a black and a Burmese! So cute!
You are not safe. Check 'em soonest. They can outbreed rabbits if you’re wrong. Ask me how I know this.
Sounds like somebody else had this book as a child. 
Home - waiting for the cold tomorrow night.
We’re buying some Amish firewood - only $150 for a cord, but we’ve got to pick it up. No biggie - it’s about a mile or 2 from here.
Saturday, daughter and I are going to Potomac Mills and IKEA. Just us, no guys. YAY!
Time to feed the critters and finish supper - tuna noodle casserole. Yum. And for tomorrow, I’m going to try the veef in the crock pot. 
Spaz, I guess my idea isn’t so original after all. Dang.
(I was actually raised in a French-speaking home, so I missed out on a lot of the typical childhood experiences most anglo Canadian/USAian kids my age had… some references to early-80s kids TV and books just make me go 
because they didn’t exist in my world)
LiLi, check your PMs. Also, Nat is too cute for words… I can’t believe he’s already a year old! Where the hell did the time go?
Do you have tips for catching them to check? They’ll eat out of our hands, but we can’t pick them up. They move FAST! (Much faster than the hamster we had previously!) We don’t want to traumatize them when we try to catch them.
Try to corner them or grab them when they’re asleep. They’re speedy little demons. Give them a sunflower seed when you’re done–that’s like chocolate dipped in crack for gerbils.
We are home! Thank Og.
Dad had an MRI as his last test today. Don’t worry, Bobbio, he was assigned a neurologist yesterday. They did every test conceivable to mankind. One problem in treating it with Plavix or such is that he has an inoperable aneurism since 1955. The doc doesn’t want to mess with meds that might mess with it.
So they are recommending he quit smoking (duh!) and watch his cholesterol, which was elevated. Looks like I’ll need to make a few dietary changes around here, which won’t hurt any of us. He already takes Alka-Seltzer every day, which is 325 mg of aspirin, a recognized therapy, as well as 1000 mg of citric acid - and sodium bicarbonate. Salt. Argh. The man is a salt fiend. I’ll see if I can talk him into that “lite” salt. It doesn’t taste half bad if you don’t use too much.
He seems to have much worse palsy in the right hand now, too. It’s sad to see him try to eat. He follows up with the neurologist in one week, and I told him to tell him about it. We noted it with some tech or another, but it’s really pronounced. My husband will be taking him to his appointments. I’m terrified for him to drive, but of course he doesn’t want to give up his independence. Poor baby.
I’m glad I’m in a position to take care of him and have him live with us. I can’t imagine what elderly people do without family.
Time for an adult bourboneverage - or something…
Pepper steak for dinner.
Hugs and smooches and forks the evil eye at managers with layoff powers! No more layoffs! I command it!
gt, at our company we’ve had new hires take scheduled vacations early on. Lots of companies will accomodate if they want you.
Bye, guys.
Howdy. work was OK. It’s a balmy 39 degrees Amurikin now.
Rebo, good luck with dad. I only sack the evil hellbeasts, so I can give more hours to the productive people.
LiLI!!! :waves frantically:
mousie & Hawkeyeop, hope you stay employed.
Hi Dogmom!
Howdy Y’all! The veef vas vunderful!
LiLi good to see Nat bein’ a nice, cute, destructive little boy! That’s just how it should be. Leave no granola bar unsmashed Nat! Go Get 'Em!
It’s coldish here. Dang! I am so glad I won’t have to go to work Firday. Tomorrow is my Firday.
Glad dad is doin’ better Rebo. Also glad he’s gettin’ looked after.
Hugs, boos, yays, icks, trouts. Distribute as needed.
