Today Is...

Today has been my "Take Offense at Everything Day". Please enjoy.

Observing the Budgie Parakeet at Petco.
Sarah: Awww! I'd love to have one and see my cats play with it.
TJ: What!!!??? *horrified* Maybe I should get a vicious fighting pitbull and see how they play with your little WienerChihuahua. *grrr!*
http://scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/2007/02/toyger_toyger_burning_bright.php

Eating at Zookini salad bar:TJ: I don't know what I want.
Michael: You should just get a Zoo-trip. (unlimited trips to the mega-salad bar)
TJ: Did you just call me a hippo!!??

Later at the restaurant:
Waitress: Is everything okay? Oh, I see it must be, your sandwich is all gone.
TJ: *whispers* I think she just called me a piggy. :(

There were more, I just can't remember them.

News Brief

I didn't do well on my Calc test. 78%

In the middle of notes on Tuesday I ran out of lead. *click click click* The lead was static-clinging to the inside of the pencil. I had to finish my notes in neon-pink ink.

I've been waking up at 5am to go to the gym with Carol.

MY SEPERATIONS PAPERWORK HAS BEEN SIGNED, MY NEW DOS IS 1 JUNE!

I fell asleep after work today and woke up at 10pm because I had to do my homework. I'm going back to bed in a few minutes now.

I have bad heartburn. I have bad gas too, because of the antibiotics I'm taking for my sinus infection. Don't lie, you wanted and needed to know. I'm trying to eat more yogurt to help with that. I will be done with the medication tomorrow. I hope to breathe again soon.

My Mom called this morning to tell me about the fire and that everyone is okay. It was early the morning of Valentine's Day and they barely made it out. Family, friends, teachers and strangers are helping them with pretty much everything they need. The insurance will pay to rebuild the house. Sadly, they lost all their pets, and on top of that their horse had to be put down recently.

They're all pretty upset, but getting through it with my family's usual odd humor. May as well laugh to keep from crying.

Thanks to everyone who expressed their concern. There are some really great people in the world, and I'm glad to know every one of you.

Inquiring Minds wanted to know....

I forgot to say, I finally got to see a doctor yesterday. Good thing, because the pressure behind my right eye is making it water randomly and uncontrollably, usually while trying to drive or trying to have a professional-type conversation. They keep thinking I'm upset. Yeah, guys, upset in just the right side of my face, because its a neat trick I learned once.

I had a lot of fluid behind my ear, and I guess my lungs didn't sound too good. I got some antibiotics, Mucinex, Sudafed, and saline spray. I've started a dry hard cough in the last few hours, so I guess I shouldn't have taken that last Sudafed. It tends to dry things up a bit too much. I also don't think I've had all the fluids I should today. I will try harder, promise.

I'm not going to go into the hassle it eventually became before I got an appointment. Suffice to say I just now got a call from a patient satisfaction survey person, and she got the whole story.

I'm going to go to cozy up in bed now, and try not to hack up a lung.

In Other News

My brother Matt called tonight to tell me he passed his GED exam. I'm proud of him.

Also, our Mom's house burnt to the ground, and her and Jesse are living with friends. I'm guessing this is the kind of thing you call people about.... but I suppose they're okay and all....

Mom, A. Kay, Jess', whichever family ever reads this.... my cell number is *Not posted because this blog has no privacy settings*

I figure the phone went up with the house.

Love ya's

You want to know more about my Nose? Ok.

Okay, so I never got the sinus problem looked at by a doctor. I didn't want to be put on quarters, which I always saw as a waste of time. I didn't want a perscription for Vitamin M. I didn't think they would/could do anything about it. I didn't want to look like a winer.

Those are all pretty dumb reasons to suffer a month long sickness.

Enter: Research

The Basics of Sinusitis

When to See a Doctor

Nasal Irrigation Could you do this? Everything I read says it is comfortable, safe, and effective. If it works, I'm snubbing the Clinic again. Oh well.

Sniffles, and Ranting

Current mood: AngryPissedBitchySickandTired

I have the sneezy beginnings of a sinus infection or something, which I get occasionally. I've never had it looked at by a doctor, and it usually comes and goes over the course of one miserable month. First its sneezing, then sniffles. It becomes sinus congestion, which moves into my ear and throat. Next is coughing and chest congestion, pressure headaches. Then it moves into the dry sinus phase, where breathing through my nose is like snorting sand, in conjunction with raw throat phase, where breathing through my mouth is like swallowing needles. Every morning I wake up feeling like my irritated swollen sinuses have descended partway into my throat.

All I want to drink is hot tea and hot apple juice. It got so bad once that all food tasted like spoiled rotting meat for 2 weeks. I don't eat. I feel feverish and sleepy even though the thermometer says I have no fever. I feel better one day, and worse again for a week. Back and forth, for a month. OTC medicines never do more than help me get through an hour of class without interrupting with the coughing and nose-blowing. In short, please just let me curl up and die.

I'm kinda not in the mood to go through all that again. I would like some medicine that works. Is it maybe a bacterial infection, so can i have some antibiotics? Please for the love of Bob say yes.

I called the appointment line, and they gave me a time, and I arrived at that time. The reception kid then tells me my appointment was cancelled, and the note says it was cancelled by me. Me, the patient, who has been in briefings all morning, who has not picked up the phone all morning, cancelled my appointment. Yeah. After 15 minutes of discussion, it comes out that they cancelled it for me (gee thanks), because all sick call appointments are now Referred.

Fun Fact: The Clinic here no longer takes Sick Call appointments.

SWWAaahhh?
Okay, um, how do I get a referral? Don't I have to be seen here first?

Oh. Um. Not sure how that works, isn't it automatic?

In what universe is a Referral going to be AUTOMATIC???!?!?!?

Okay, I'm not sure, let me call Soandso.
Okay, they're going to call you back this afternoon and tell you what to do.

So I called at 4:15, after my final briefing. The clinic closes at 4???!!! Can I leave a message with the After-hours care call person, for Soandso to call me back like they were supposed to? No, no that's not possible, you have to call back at exactly 7am tomorrow TO MAKE A SICK CALL APPOINTMENT. You don't have a life, right? You aren't sick or anything, right? Not Important.

"Future" "Housewife" calling.

Michael made the mistake recently of saying I would be a Housewife when I get out next month. Ahem. Nothankyew. I will be a full time student. I will work just as hard, or harder, on a daily basis than you do at work, so that I can have a future in a paying job. Besides, to be a housewife you need to have kids. No matter how much babysitting you need, you are not m'kid. So stuff it. And then I thought about it.

Well really I always get pissed about this, but lets pretend I just thought about it. We have had the exact same job since the day we met, and I've been in longer so I've been paid more than him from day one. Yet who does all the housework? Cook, clean, organize, budget, worry, clean? I'm sorry, I'm being unfair. He does manage to take out the trash or do some other thing, if I've nagged him about it a half dozen times, and if he's reached a good save-point, if there exists such a thing it that game.

So, no, I will not be your Housewife. I will just continue to do everything I already do, so as I will not have to live in a pigsty watching my brand new big screen TV with nothing to eat but Pot-pies, Ramen, and ice cream.


Women Still Chief Household Organizers: U.K. Study

on 12/13/2006

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 13 (HealthDay News) -- Three-quarters of British women still do most of the household food shopping and cooking, making them prime targets for better health-promotion policies, researchers say.

Reporting in the British Food Journal, researchers at Newcastle University's Human Nutrition Center surveyed 198 British women and men in their early 30s. Of the women who were married or cohabitating, 79 percent had the chief responsibility for household food shopping, and 72 percent did most of the food preparation and cooking.

About 25 percent of the women said they did the food shopping and cooking because they were more skilled than their husbands/partners in meal planning, budgeting, and preparation and were more in tune with their family's food preferences.
(Nooooo....you're kiddingg.....duhhhh.....)

Other said they did the shopping because they could do it faster than their husband/partner, who was often tempted by "unnecessary treats," the study said.
(You have no idea.)

"Women have made great progress in terms of equal opportunities over the last few decades, so it surprised us to find that many women, even in this relatively young age group, assumed the traditional female role of chief cook and food shopper," lead author and registered dietitian Dr. Amelia Lake said in a prepared statement.

"This work shows how important it is to consider the role of women when developing health intervention policies. Health professionals should also consider this when giving advice on healthy lifestyles and eating," Lake said.

"For instance, there's no point solely advising a diabetic male on how to structure his diet when he isn't doing the food shopping or cooking -- you need to see his wife, too!" Lake said.

Bill Nye the Science Guuuyyyy...!

Bill Nye is on MSNBC talking about the massive amounts of lake effect snow piling on right now. This guy is awesome. "It's not confirmed, but it may be caused by the death of Anna Nicole Smith..." He then went on to talk about global warming.

Bill Nye + Beakmans World = Why I've always been such a total geek.

Because you know you want to click it.

Torture

Barely a breeze, 65 degrees, cloudless beautiful sky.

I have spent most of my day inside, cleaning. I got to go outside to walk to the dumpster, and once to sit and clean some large tupperware containers. They were in our garage, icky.

Michael is annoyed by the windows being open, because kid and traffic sounds are disturbing his all-day gaming session, same as the dishwasher and vaccum noises. The door is open too, and his flesh is burning off from exposure to natural light. Do you hear the sympathy oozing from my words? Yeah, thought so.

Sun sets in exactly 2 hours.

Yesterday I finished putting together our new desk. My the skin on my thumb and palm hurt from all the toolwork. So the cleaning was mostly throwing away packing materials and vaccuming little white dots off the carpet.

Turns Out

Turns out, I didn't already post this, but my last post reminded me. Must fix.

I WANT A PARROT!

Also, turns out, I didn't file my state taxes for the last two years. No, not this year and last year, but also the year before. This may sound like a bad thing, but hear me out. Tax laws say I get all my state taxes back if I havn't set foot in the state for more than a month in a year. I havn't been in state for more than a week in the last 3 years. Wow. I should visit more often, but that's alot of $$$$$ to get back.

See how this solves so many problems? Primarily, I GET A PARROT! Really, are there any more important things that can be solved with money? I think not.

Here's a picture of the breed I want, Dusky Pionus Parrot: