Scraps Of Life

Ironic...

I post every day for a week and get maybe 1 hit for that week....I don't post for a week I get 8....So I guess the trick is to post only when I don't want readers??? Oh well.... I only do this to hear myself type anyway.

I made it back to work this week, a half-day on Monday, but the rest of the week full-time, and Thursday started eating most regular foods again. The biggest hurdle to jump now is the stitches: they itch like crazy and it's like having a constant nagging cough....not fun. But the uber cough syrup w/codiene I have left over from my last bout of brochitis seemed to help last night.

School is going well one week in, but I am a hopeless idiot with my calculator. Turns out that Casio's are backwards from everything and THAT must be why they cost 1/2 as much as the TI's. But it's early yet and so far the only thing I tried to get it to do that it wouldn't was be a random number generator, which I can fake that so no biggie right?

Oh! And I have come to a conclusion: I am a Promotional Plush Whore. Yes, there, I said it. Most recent obsession: the Serta counting sheep. I want #29, must be the co-dependecy thing. (click on each sheep and they have a little quote....just too cute!)

They know me well...

Himeko - "Princess Child"


What would your Japanese name be? (female)
brought to you by Quizilla

A whole or a half?

And I wish I were contemplating a Publix sub choice, but no, I'm talking about work tomorrow. I definitely overdid it yesterday and spent most of today in bed sleeping or reading, having 1 Strawberry Instant Breakfast and 1 helping of mashed potatoes all day. My leftovers from dinner last night are calling to me but I know to try and eat solid food would be the highest folly.

I probably won't last a whole 8-hours tomorrow, but I'll at least try through lunch to start, and just wing it. Maybe I won't have to talk much...yeah, right.

Jail Break

I finally got out of the house tonight, but the results were less than stellar.

First we went to a movie: American Wedding. The movie was good, the immediate company was pleasant, however there was a group of teens taking up the back row of the overly warm and rather stuffy theatre that were intent on being anything except courteous of the other patrons. That sort of thing just burns me up.....and not ionly me, a gentleman in the next row up was having a similar reaction and sending warning glares their direction. Oh, the popcorn was stale, too, but I managed to eat a few pieces very carefully just to prove I could.

Next was dinner, and we had a $25 goft certificate to Mozzarella's American Cafe because a previous trip had yeilded less than gracious service and an overcharge on V's credit credit so there we went. I was hopeful that I would make it through a soup course and pasta and be a happy camper afterwards. Well, between the excessive chomping of the popcorn and keeping up a conversation with V, the soup was difficult enough to eat 2/3 of. By the time I attemped the entree (Smoked Chicken Pasta Pie) it was all I could do to eat three pieces of penne, one strip of chicken and 2 small mushroom slices. It just hurt too much. Everything else went into a take-home box to be attempted at another time.

Once I got home I headed straight for the Percoset, which pretty fairly knocked me on my rear for an hour or so. I'm going to really have to take it easy tomorrow to keep from doing too much and getting worn out. Monday will be a true trial, and maybe a half-day isn't such a preposterous notion, especially since I still have to go to campus to get my Statistics Bundle. Oh! and maybe sell back my English book from last semester!

Is this Day 4 or Day 5?

Do you count the day the surgery happened as Day 1 or do the days not count until the first dayafter? Or would the days start when you come to in recovery? Because since that was right around noon, I suppose each day would turn over at noon which would make this mid-way through the 5th day. Oh bother, it's Friday, enough said!

I am truly stir crazy...honest to goodness rediculously irratated at being stuck in this house ALL WEEK without a break. It sucks. I'm tired of having a sore throat (although that is getting better...still need 2 Percoset but can go 5 hours or so between the doses instead of barely 4), I'm tired of the limited food thing (although I had warm soup and mashed potatoes today), but mostly I'm tired of the weak thing. It took me over an hour to wash my hair and do a cursory shave today. I had to keep pausing to avoid fainting or something. And this was BEFORE the meds at noonish-1 o'clock. Sigh...

But the weekend is now here and I think I might have V convinced to get me out of the house for a bit tomorrow. My idea is a movie and a slushy buthe heard something about MATRIX Reloaded at the IMAX this weekend so maybe that. But I'll get out of this house one way or another before Monday morning! Wish me luck!

I ate eggs!

But I sorta wish I hadn't now. Don't get me wrong, I like eggs, and being able to eat real food feels like such a coup....its just now I have a slightly upset tummy and that's not so good. Oh well.

Worked on some drawings today: the watercoloring of the. These will eventually be the image map on the mail site here, once I get the final drawing done and colored...then scanned and mapped. Not to mention the pages built that the image will map to. Sigh....it's slow going but at least it's going. And I started reading Dreamweaver MX for Dummies last night. Even though I used it on the rps site, I'm still so very unaware of much of what the program can do so I went out and bought the book to learn. For me a written reference is so much easier to digest compared to trying to just read help files on-screen.

Dr R aproved more Percoset for me, so I'm set through the weekend, although the nurse mentioned I should expect a bit of a relapse this weekend, and added pain in my ears referred from my surgery wounds. This I am not looking forward to, but once it passes I understand I will be firm;ly on the mend.

Thank Goodness for Gerber

If it weren't for the fact that baby food manufacturers credit infants with taste buds, I would be absolutely languishing in sugar shock by now. V was patient and kind enough yesterday to make 2 separate runs to the store for provisions which has allowed me to break the sweet monopoly on things cold and smooth. Last night I feasted on turkey and gravy and squash with some Turkey Rice dinner from Beech Nut thrown in for good measure. Today's lunch feature was Beef and carrots (which is quite reminescent of beef stew) and a side of green beans. Say what you will at the idea of a 27yo consuming puree with gusto, but I am greatful for the assortment of small, low-calorie jars littering my fridge.

And speaking of calories, I was quite pleasantly shocked to note that there are only 50 calories per banana popscicle (and by that I mean for each package which is actually a twin-pop). These popscicles (the kind you buy 18 twin-pops for something like $2.50 at Waly World) are what help numb my throat after another session of pain killers, which I've gone down to only 1 Percoset every 4 hours instead of 2. The last thing I want to do is run out over a weekend when there would be NO refills available, not to mention that it feels good not to have to take a max dosage constantly. I like to feel like I'm improving. Just because the surgery was only day before yesterday, doesn't mean it feels like only 2 das I've been recovering: feels like 2 weeks already, and several more to go.

And, because there is no such thing as life taking a holiday while you're on the mend, this is an email I had waiting for me from my Mom (who brought me a plant and a balloon last night) when I woke for my 4pm meds:
HEY-

So Andrew -

He fell asleep while driving during the night to Aunt Weez's and went off the road and 'bounced' off a guardrail. He is NOT HURT but called Marie and she told him to pull off and sleep. So this morning when she called around 9 am he had not made it to her house. He got caught in Washington DC morning traffic for an hour and a half and finally made it up there by around 1:30 this afternoon. He was going to bed and later Marie was going home to check on him and the car. I am not supposed to know about the falling asleep and the car. Once again, he was not hurt. Marie and I decided that I should fly up there and drive home with Andrew since he is so obviously tired and we are afraid he will not make it home in one piece. It is a good 16-20 hour drive from New Jersey to Tallahassee. Last week I had jokingly told Jason (my coworker) that I should fly up and join Andrew and we could then visit and drive home. He pooh poohed the idea and told me Andrew needed to be left alone. WELL-This is what we're gonna do. It will be a long drive but I hope we have some fun too.

This means I won't be getting my Iced Caramel Macchiatto from Mom tomorrow since her flight is at 6:50. Oh well, guess it'll be hubby who gets to make the coffee run.

And finally, the problem with V's idea about giving me an insullated mug for my ice water? Well, the ice doesn't melt at it's accustomed rate which means I have to go refill it with water more often....at least when the ice melted it was replenishing my water supply. Pah!

Grumpy hump-day to you!

Day 2

Well, the night passed relatively well, although I may have to give up "sleeping through the night" for a bit: the more I sleep the less fluids I consume and the more difficult it is to "prime the pump" when it's time for the next 4 o'clock increment. Speaking of which, it's that time again...

<10 minutes later> Okay, to continue. On my way to take my medicine (just the Percoset this round) I succeeded in doing something I wasn't able to yesterday: look at my throat. I think I'm sorry I did to be honest. Previously it hadn't been comfortable to open my mouth wide enough to get a glimpse back there in the bathroom. Doesn't help that the corners of my mouth are cracking, from what I do not know. I started using Lip medex early this morning though so that problem is under control.

Anyway, I finally wobbled over to my make-up mirror with the straight-across lights and let me tell you, the sight that met my eyes....blech! I'm not going to be gaphic or anything, but wow! I will say this: I have a MUCH larger opening back there than I used to, and no more uvula....no hanging thing in back. It does look like a picture from a health book though....and not a pretty one!

Moving on: I think more of the anesthesia is wearing off. It wasn't until mid-morning today that I've had any pain when turning my head or touching my neck....so it must be the heavy drugs wearing off. But that's okay. I can talk, which is a good thing, although I need to do less of it and my voice is somewhat different. That could last up to 6 weeks I was told. With V gone (to the store to buy me baby food...I need something savory! she said as she took another spoon of chocolate pudding) it's easier not to feel the need to talk to thin air. Stretching to reach things is also funny-feeling: neck soreness and my torso feels like I've been coughing a lot, the way I do when i get brochitis. Go figure.

I've only has water come out my nose once, and that was at my 8am meds. It was strange but didn't hurt or anything. Not to mention the fact that I didn't wear the cpap last night, V said I didn't snore, and I didn't wake up all congested the way I have been with the air. So maybe this really will work the way it should!!!

Okay....I feel a nap time coming upon me. More later :)

The Day

Okay...we'll be leaving in about a half an hour to head for the hospital. Nervous? Rather. And V doesn't want to let me bring anything non-essential in from the truck. Like a book. Or my Pooh Bear. Those are essential to this 27-year old kid who is about to go under for the first time. SO there. Maybe if I switch to a bigger purse really quickly I can smuggle them in. Off to do that now.

Writing from bed

If you're going to be bed-bound, you might as well do it in style!

I just finished moving my computer to the bed-side so that I will not be internet-blind while I'm on light duty (or as V says: off duty). Also for my convenience I have a fresh supply of reading material, the complete first season of Friends on DVD (thank you hubby!) and a cooler to be filled with ice-packs and cold things to keep my hydrated throughout the week. Once V goes back to work on Wednesday that is.

The plan is, Monday will mostly be spent at the hospital: get there 8.30ish, surgery at 10am, recovery and then watching for 4 hours and get home before 5 I'm hoping, to sleep most of the evening and night away. Tuesday will be drink water/eat popscicles, take medicine, pee, and sleep. I'm hoping Wednesday I can sleep less, read more, and that will be my life throughout the week.

A charmed like mine is, no?

FInally

I managed to clear at least part of the office up (including my desk chair) and can now at least SIT at my computer. Granted, my keyboard is sitting on a stack of various odds & ends: not ergonomic in the leat, but it serves its purpose.

So, the big news is that I will be having the UP3 surgery (w/tonsillectomy) on Monday the 18th. I decided to do it after considering not only the apnea benefits (not a total cure but an improvement at least) but the sideline benefits as well: people without their tonsils get sick less, small opening of the throat causing other problems like inability to swallow pills in a normal fashion...that sort of thing.

Plus I talked to a bunch of people who had had similar or the same procedure(s) and got a bunch of "war stories" ahead of time. No one sugar-coated it for me. The ENT surgeon plainly said: this is the most painful surgery I do. My friend and aesthetician related her experience at 16 having her tonsils out. But she also said, even though it hurt like hell, she would do it again in a heartbeat and not to let the pain overshadow the benefits.

V still isn't sure about it and Mom asked me just today: are you sure you want to do this? Yes, I do, I'm sure. There.

Granted, I'm a bit aprehensive, and definitey not looking forward to the pain. But the pain will pass and I'll end up with a larger airway opening and maybe less than sever obstructive sleep apnea. I'll be out of work for 1 week and then on very light duty for 2 weeks after that. No gym, no strenuous anything. It will be at least a week, maybe more, that I'll be unable to eat anything other than popscicles and ice cream, although I'm hoping to get approval for protein/meal replacement smoothies and maybe an occasional decaf iced caramel machiatto :)

Reversing Vandalism

The San Francisco library had to remove 600 books from its circulation as the result of a hate crime: books (mainly on gay, lesbian issues, HIV/AIDS and women's issues) were defaced to the point of further use being impeded...or so he thought. The library decided to use these boks by giving them to willing artists who would then resubmit the crative work prepared with the tomes for inclusion in a "Reversing Vandalism" exhibit.

Check out the press release here and click around the links to the request form if you'd like to participate. I sent mine off and will hopefully be receiving a book in need of some TAC (tender artistic care).

Why I don't take my husband tho the grocery store...

Is simple, really, as our bill easily triples from when I go on my own with a firm list in hand. Of course, this week's paycheck mostly went to tuition so I knew I'd need a bit of a transfusion to cover the normal stuff (we keep our finances separate...it's really not a bad deal all the way around) but he decided we'd just shop together and he'd pay.

He just has such a fun time shopping, he gets a little carried away, but honestly I have saved him so much by taking over just the groceries it's absolutely amazing! It used to be walking into Wal-Mart would easily be $125...even on our heaviest weeks with me shopping alone, it's $75....but usually closer to $50. Just goes to show that woman just might be better at some things than men.