Culture shock and reunion adventures: it's the MMP!

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
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This morning has been very frustrating.

First, I missed the audio portion of the first half of the NetMeeting I was supposed to be in because they gave me the wrong frickin’ dial in number. They even had the wrong number up on the screen when I logged into the net meeting. So, I spent 38 friggin’ minutes trying to follow what was going on on the screen and listening to music that was driving me APESHIT. Finally, someone sent me the right number for audio, but damn, I missed the important stuff. I went over some of the stuff with someone else after the meeting, though, and I should be able to present some useful info to the boss.

While I was struggling with the whole NetMeeting thingie, my damn cell phone kept going off, and my other line on the land line kept ringing too. It was my sister trying to give me a status on my mother.

At any rate, they removed MORE breast tissue from my mother, along with eight to ten nodes. She didn’t wake up nearly as sick this time; although I guess she had some god awful nightmares. The localized radiation treatment plan has been scrapped.

The doc doesn’t feel comfortable with that option right now. So, they’re waiting on the pathology report (again), but it looks like five weeks or more of once a day radiation treatments. I don’t know what form they’ll take. I’ll know more next week.

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Yes, Ellen, I am getting help. Don’t worry, everyone, I have my therapists on speed dial, at work, home & cell. I think it was a combination of having a bra fitting last night and worrying about giving blood this morning. I guess I felt vulnerable last night.

I did give blood this morning and felt a little light headed afterwards, which was probably both things at the same time. I’m feeling much, much better now. It’s Friday, it’s payday, AC sits so far away from me that I can’t hear her unless she’s yelling, I have an excuse to not take the stairs or do any heavy lifting or vigorous exercise for the next 24 hours and I have lasagne for lunch today. It’s all good.

Taters, I’m keeping your mom in my thoughts today.

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Taters, Your mom is in my thoughts. I hope everything goes well for her.

Had a very nice lunch with my friend - full of ancedotes about her recent trip to Europe. I also learned not to go on a 15 day river cruise with someone you don’t know well. :slight_smile:

Another story she told me has me even more grrrrrrr about the city council here. A SLOST was passed to build a new main library building. My friend is Director of the regional library system, and brought the building in under budget. There is money left over in the budget, but the city won’t tell them how much - could be as little as $400,000 or as much as $4 million. Legally, that money can not be spent on anything but the library, and my friend would of course like being able to buy more books, but the city doesn’t want to let go of the money.

I need to go outside and work in the yard, or go work on beads. I am full of lunch and having lazy cats all around is not helping me fight off my laziness.

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taters, just wanted to chime in on best wishes for your mom. What an ordeal…and add in the stress of work, well, have a cocktail or two tonight when you get home.

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: drives by :
: drives back :
: parks and gets out the lawn chair and a keg :
It’s Friday! It’s time to do some laundry, and Swiffer the kitchen. I need to do some quick Krogering and pick up some fish.

Jahdra, I hope you feel better now. AC called NC like a dog? You mean like: NC! NC!! Come here, Mama’s got a nice TPS report for you! That’s a good widdle NC!

MBG, Hope it slows down soon. Today was the first day of non-year rounds schools.

[del]Keith[/del] Taxi, neat apartment. I wish I had a pool at my apartment. I don,t swim, but wimmen in bikinis always improves the view.

Taters, you and Mom hang in there!

SCL, where is all that SLOST money going? Any councilmen have new Beemers?

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'cause I was gonna say - “Wow! KeithT dropped in for a visit - he does exist” <snerk> :smiley: :wink:

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**Taters ** - all kinds of good thoughts coming your way for your mom and you and everybody!

The saga of our land sale continues. If you reach waaaaaaaay back in your memories, you may recall that we’d intended to build a house on a lot we’d bought in 2000. But that was not to be, so we bought our current domicile and sold the lot. Well, the guy who bought the lot discovered that its legal description was screwed up. We expected he was going to sue us and the realtor and all that, but thankfully, we had title insurance, so if the description was wrong, we were covered. But he was still all pissy. Our realtor, a darling woman, has been going round and round with this, only to discover that when the guy who we bought it from originally bought it decades ago, *that’s * when the first screw-up occurred, and it has perpetuated.

Now, our darling realtor told the buyer, and his lawyer, what they need to do to straighten it out - without the legalese, they need to get a “never mind - this is the way it’s supposed to be” entry into the county records, and that’s that. Bear in mind, we sold this lot a year and a half ago. Why the buyer is just figuring this all out is beyond me. All I can say is, thank goodness for title insurance. In this case, it was a coupla hunnert bucks well spent. There’s a lesson in there somewheres.

I just finished loading the kiln. After my load of jeans is done in the dryer and **FCD ** is done messing around with whatever he’s doing in ManLand, I’ll fire it up. Can’t wait to see what everything looks like!!

Plans for tomorrow probably involve more boat cleaning. And sweating - it’s gonna be hot!! Unfortunately, we’re at the only marina in Solomons that doesn’t have a pool. And the sea nettles are too thick to make river or bay swimming worth considering. So we’ll sweat. sigh

I’m hungry - what’s for dinner?

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Back from wandering around with Attacks Husband. We ate empanadas and ice cream and other things I don’t remember. It was fun. We walked through the Portugese area, which I’ve never visited before.
It almost makes up for putting a lip balm through the dryer. :smack: I only have to rewash a few things. Still, argh.

Time to do some chores, run to the bank and the drug store, and then call Best Friend. Mr. Lissar isn’t going to be home from work until 9 or so, poor darling.

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Do the idiots who run the nursing agency Mr. SCL works for not look at the schedule? They just called, and when I told the woman he was asleep, she said she needed him to work tonight. Read your schedule! He’s working in the morning, that’s why he’s asleep now!

caninefacilator, the money is supposedly in the bank. The city just doesn’t want to discuss how much was raised and how much is left. The lawyers for the school board, which own/operate the library, are getting into the act now.

A friend of my mine is coming to town this weekend and is going to help me learn to photograph my jewelry for the website. Mr. SCL had been giving it a try, but without much luck. I hope we can figure out what I’m doing wrong. I’m getting fed up with the whole deal.

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Another person just driving by… Hi everyone! Long day. Long week. (What I get for being off on Monday, I guess.) And I have to get up early in the morning.

Falling asleep.

GT

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Well, it’s 10:30 here and Mr. SCL just left for work. The night nurse called in or didn’t show or something, so Mr. SCL will work from 11:00 tonight until about 11:00 tomorrow morning. I do not understand why nurses who do this repeatedly are not fired. It really screws up Mr. SCL’s sleep schedule - he’s scheduled to go in again at 7 Sunday morning. The patient deserves better treatment than this. Mr. SCL is an RN - he’s supposed to be there when the patient is awake!

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Oh, look–another reason I am getting out of the insanity that is nursing!
I wish him an easy shift and good sleep when he gets home.

Nurses who do this are not fired, because there are not enough of us to make any one of us expendable. Employers will put up with alot of crap–or so it seems.

[grousing starts here]
Me, I was written up for going online (everyone goes online) and then put on a level for joking around with a co-worker ( believe me, twas mild).

But we have people who are chronically 20 minutes late, who don’t show, who call in on holidays, who do not take good care of pts. They seem to flourish and nurses like me get called on the carpet…

[grousing over]

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PSA:
If you fry fish, make sure it is patted dry before tossing it into hot oil. Ouch!
Also, never fry bacon naked.

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Bleh. Can’t sleep, in spite of only getting five hours’ sleep yesterday. I will do computer stuff until I feel groggy enough to go back to bed.

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Hi all! Looks like I missed a very eventful Friday! To recap …

taxi78cab - I am in the Middle East, home of crude oil, hence the $1 per gallon for gas.

Ellen - I have a front loader and I HATE it! Slow and painful to use. Lots of people say it’s more eco-friendly and gentler on your clothes, but I still hate it. It takes 4 times as long to get my washing day over and done with!

swampy - whoa! It must have been a huge shock to lose 2 friends like that. (((((hugs)))))

Taters - more (((((hugs))))) for you and your Mom! I’m praying for you both!

Jahdra - chin up, sweetie. Think calm, relaxing thoughts!

FCM - I hope this land kerfuffle sorts out without any more crap!

Oh, and … holy crap, I am actually posting in the same thread as the famous Rue? :smiley:

Anyhoo, question for all of you Amerkins! What is the deal with NFL? To explain, I am an Aussie, living in the Middle East. About 2 months ago, my older sister (also an Aussie!) moved to Cleveland OH to take up a 2 year internship at the Cleveland Clinic (she’s a cardiologist). She has been getting out and about discovering the Great Lakes and other American weekend activities including sporting events. Sis mentioned in her last email that she recently slept through a Cleveland Browns game. Key to her boredom was that the thing is tailored to a 60-minute TV slot, but takes about 3.5 hours IRL, with all the breaks to regroup or allow for “a few messages from our sponsors”. What gives? Is this game supposed to be sleep-inducing? How is Super Bowl Sunday such a huge thing if the game is boring as bat-sh*t??? After growing up on a diet of Rugby (Union and League), Australian Rules Football and even Soccer, NFL just seems too commercialised to make sense! :confused:

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I knew by Wednesday that I was never gonna catch up, so please just pretend that I have responded to everyone.

swampy that’s a lot of loss to experience in a very short time. I know that keeping busy helps push the grief back for a bit, and it’s a good coping mechanism. Still, make certain that you take care of you too.

Taters your mom, you and family remain in my prayers. So far my dad is doing pretty well since his prostate cancer surgery last August 24th. He had to do radiation and it wasn’t fun, honestly from what my mom doesn’t say it was an ordeal. He’s kicking it pretty good these days, though at the time it was a wrenching experience for him and all of us who love him. I wish your mom the best outcome with the least treatment. And I wish you peace.

Jahdra I understand the dreams. It is all so much better after we dig the crap up and toss it out. From what I have gleaned from this and other threads, you and I could have a very long talk about common issues. Anytime you might need a friend, my email is in my profile.

I suppose I am too late to wish Drae bon voyage, I hope that she has a wonderful time.

Ummm, I can imagine Leonard Nimoy as being a good kisser…but then again I still have a “thing” for Rod McKuen. I am so dating myself

It has been a crazy busy day. I am back on my feet, although my back/sciatica/neuropathy are still making me aware of their prescence. A lot of it are the weather changes. For the last few days it has rained solidly during the nights, but the days have been mostly clear. I can live with that. Today my buddy and I drove around to run errands, and then we went down to the old Ram site* and just watched the sea and chatted. Weather permitting we are going to take the dogs out tomorrow (her two and one of mine) for a beach run. It’s good to get out and remember why I love Kodiak.

Some one (or more) pulled all of my flowers out of my bed up by the edge of the property and just threw them around in the grass. :mad: So much for trying to share a little patch of pretty, we will be moving that bed closer to the house. I am planning a bulb order, so it’s just as well that it will be closer, and I am thinking we need to put up some sort of fence. I don’t want to, but apparently it’s necessary.

#3 and I had chinese from the deli. It wasn’t great, but it beat cooking. I had two fortune cookies, and only one, I believe, is <snerk>able.

A four wheeled adventure will soon bring you happiness.

and

You have a charming way with words and should write a book.

Not too bad for a couple of deli fortune cookies!

Well, skiffman is back, the kicker (outboard) broke down today. He wants me to find online a transmission for the power skiff, which has an inboard engine. Here is what he gave me to search for: Hurtz diesel transmission direct drive cummins 150 4bt power skiff. :rolleyes: Oh yeah, google is not helping, but now that he is here perhaps he can give me a better idea of what the skipper is looking for.

So I’m off to bed, we’ll probably watch a movie, we are so married and boring! I’ll try to stick my head in over the weekend, but I’m not promising anything!

'Night, CK’s!

*The old Ram site is where, back in the day, there was an outdoor theater deep in Fort Abercrombie Park. There were bleachers set up in the hill, and there was a reenactment of the Russian colonization of Kodiak. When Natives gained more political influence a re-write was demanded to show the Alutiiq people in a more accurate manner. Much small town politicking occured, and in the long run the site was torn down and Nature is reclaiming the land, and it is a very nice, quiet place to go and visit while watching Nature, and it’s also a good place to take the dogs for an off leash beach run. When I get a new digital camera I will have so many things to show all of you!

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This is really odd - I find my clothes wash faster with the front loader. Well, except when I go for the extra rinse and extra spin cycle, which I generally just do with jeans and towels. Your machine must have issues.

The other thing I love about my front loader is having it on a platform - no more reaching and bending. OK, well, *some * reaching and bending, but not near as much as with a top loading washer and a front loading dryer. Now it’s just a nice-to-have, but in a few more years, as old age continues its ravages upon my frame, I know the waist-level load and unload will be much appreciated!

It’s 5:30. On Saturday morning. I had a lousy night - I think I’m doomed to fret about my kiln running, no matter what! But it did just fine - according to the display, the Fast Glaze program took just under six and a half hours, and it’s now cooling down. It was all the way down to 1400-ish degrees F. By the time we return from the marina this afternoon, I should be able to unload it and see what I created. I hope the colors approximate the jewel tones of the samples I saw in the store. I hope at least that they’re pretty - otherwise, I’ll be stuck with a buttload of ugly pieces to sell at the show.

Plans for the day: dump run - my recycle cans overfloweth, and both trash cans are pretty much full before I run thru the house collecting. And I know the ManLand trash receptacle is full. So while *FCD ** is playing around with whatever the heck he’s doing down there, I’ll load the van and go to the convenience center. Then when he’s done, we’ll head to the marina to labor. Last night, he said he wants me to clean the bilge so it can be painted. :eek: I laughed at him - I do NOT clean bilges. * ick! I plan to attack the V-berth. Bilge, indeed! :stuck_out_tongue:

That’s all I can manage for now. I’m awake, so I guess some power-surfing is in order. But this is gonna be a long day… <yawn>

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The key to understanding Dottygum’s front loader issue is that she is living in Europe, or close enough.

The front loader we had in our London flat was out of Barbie’s Dreamhouse, it was so small. It held maybe 2 shirts, some undies and socks.

Trust me, American front loaders are HUGE. Mine can hold up to 17 bath towels at a time.

To me, the NFL is INCREDIBLE BORING. To others, it is a religion. It is NOT fast paced (there are spurts of activity–quickly followed by a huddle, so that everyone can catch their breath and/or get more beer). It goes on forever. I don’t blame her in the least for falling asleep during a game. But others might run her outta town on a rail for it…
Off to work.

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I’m here and more awake, I hope.

So sorry to hear about the additional surgery, Taters. Your Mom is in my thoughts and prayers.

Sorry about your flowers, kai. I’ve never understood how anyone can do that. Is it possible that it was an animal and not a person? (I’ve had squirrels wreak havoc here from time to time, although they usually just try to take out a single plant.)

Well, gotta go print out the minutes from our last meeting and then I’m off to the park… Back after a while.

GT

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Mornin’ y’all!

Taters more good thoughts and prayers headed to TatersMom. Glad she came through this surgery ok. Here’s to continued healing and recovery.

Again, thanks to everybody for all the nice words and such. In a bit Ima purty myself up, dress in black and look appropriate for a funeralizin’. The ummm… “anonymous” cooler of beer will appear at their house before [del]I[/del] the anonymous donor goes to the graveside. Did I mention that the service is a graveside? Oh, and it’s not so hot and humid today, so that’s good.

Ok, one more cup of go juice and I’m off to get all spiffy.

Later y’all.